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CIHM/ICMH 

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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


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The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
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D 


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Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
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I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


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D 


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obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


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This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


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y 

..    i— 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filrr.ryci  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

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L'exemplaire  filmd  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
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empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
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symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


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right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  6  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichd,  il  est  filmd  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droita, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


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Sltangp  Adventures  on  the  Yukon    1 


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By  Wn.  M.  STANLEY 


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*<.  V      EnterwJ  at  Chloago  Postoflloe  as^eoftnd-olaBs  irifctter.  > 


Chicajro:    LAI^tJM  i^BB,  Ptiblishers.  363  WabaiJhJip, 


JS-iS«^- 


OPIE  READ'S 

Great  Character  Novels 


The  growing  strength  of  these  fascinating  and  vivid  chantclur'  Yomances  is  such  as  to  insure  the 

a  permanent  place  iu  Knglish  htiirature. 


THE  JUCKLINS 

...  AS  A  PLAT ...  ^ 


"Even  as  the  hen 
gathereth  her  chickens 
tinder  her  wing." — 
Matt  XXIII..  87. 


Lem  Jucklin  is  a  lov- 
able character  who 
"Believes  in  the  Book 
from  Kiver  to  Kiver, 
but  can't  help  fightin' 
roosters." 


•TheJucklinsisaHit." 

—7be  Chicago  Trih- 
utte,  February  8th. 


"Mr.  Robson's  Lem 
Jucklin  is  delicious." — 
Evening  Post. 


THE  JUCKLINi 

...AS  A  BOOK. 


"It  is  not  only  a  goa 
story,  but  a   beautifci 
story." — Kansas  Ci& 
Journal. 


"The  characters  turt 
almost  personal  frieni^ 
of  the  reader  who  (ol| 
lows  their  fortunes."- 
Current  Literature. 


"Decidedly  the  besS 
of  the  many  good  book!| 
Mr.  Read  has  writtcn.' 
— Amy   Leslib  in  Wl 
Chicago  Daily  flews. 


OLD  EBENEZER 

"Mr.  Read's  new  story  is  fully  .is  capable  of  successful  dramatization  as  was  'The  Juckl 
lins.'  " — Cliicagt  Tribunt. 

MY  YOUNG  MASTER 

"We  fancy  this  book  will   become  recognized  as  his  masterpiece ;  as  a  classic  of  th(j 
ante-bellum  iptnoA."— Commercial  Travelers'  Home  Magaiine. 

THE  JUCKLINS 

DRAMATIZED — being  p-esented  by  Stuart  Robson  and  his  Company. 

ON  THE  SUWANEE  RIVER 

The  characters  in  this  story  are  strongly  drawn  and  full  of  interest. 

A  TENNESSEE  JUDGE 

This  is  a  thorough  delineation  of  certain  phases  of  public  life.    It  is  a  supreme  charactet 
sketch  and  an  unusually  interesting  story. 

THE  COLOSSUS 

Pronounced  by  an  eminent  literary  critic  to  be  "the  most  thoughtful  romance 
modern  production." 

A  KENTUCKY  COLONEL 

This  is  one  of  '.he  most  beautifully  written  and  the  most  striking  in  character,  as  weltj 
as  the  most  thrilling  and  chaste,  pieces  of  fiction  ever  written. 

EMMETT  BONLORE 

This  story  combines  the  strong  qualities  of  Opie  Reud's  style,  and  is  full  of  actioii| 
incident  and  humor. 

LEN  QANSETT 

"No  one  can  read  the  book  without  being  bettered."— y4m^riV««  Commercial  Traveller. 

THE  TEAR  IN  THE  CUP  aAd  Other  Stories 

Many  of   these    are  wnrld-wide  in  fame,  and  every  one  has  some  startling  denoufr| 
men^.    They  are  typical  American  stories. 

THE  WIVES  OF  THE  PROPHET 

The  theme,  the  plot,  and  the  style  Of  this  remarklble  story  has  no  counterpart  io| 
iia<  lituralure. 


«Iovels 


is  such  as  to  insure  tha 


THE  JUCKLINi 

...AS  A  BOOK... 


"It  is  not  only  st  go( 
story,  but  a  beauti 
story." — Kansas 
Journal. 


Cm 


"The  characters  turi 
almost  personal  frietiiij 
of  the  reader  who  i4 
lows  their  fortunes."- 
Current  Literature. 


"Decidedly  the  besi 

ol  the  many  good  bookii 

Mr.  Read  has  writtenJ 

—Amy   Leslie  in  Th^ 

^   Chicago  Daily  fiews. 

atization  as  was  'The  Jtickl 


"liJ 


irpiece;  as  a  classic  of  thel 


ompaay. 

rest. 

>.   It  is  a  supreme  charactei 

ost  thoughtful  romance  dl 

Ttking  in  character,  as  wettl 

style,  and  is  full  of  actioii| 

icon  Commercial  Traveller. 
has  some  startling  denoue 

itory  has  no  counterpart  iol 


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AMILEOFGOLD 


Strange  Adventures  on  the  Yukon 


BY 


William  M.  Stanley 

Recently  returned  from  the  Klondyke  with  |112,000  in  dust  and  nuggets 

and  116,000,000  in  daiftis.    Giving  best  pracUcal 

advice  to  prospectors. 


Gold!  Gold!  Gold! 

Bright  and  yellow^  hard  and  cold.    . 

■~-th»mat  Hmd. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  VIEWS  TAKEN  ON  THE  SPOT 


m 


CHICAGO 

Laird  <k  Leb,  Publishers 

1898 


f6'i»    >_^^^_5''   *"«-'^ 


Copyright,  1898,  by 

WM.  H.  LEE. 
All  rights  reserved. 

SIS 


To  My  Wife 


on  whom  rbstbd  thb  burdbn  op  the  care  of  a  i,arge 

famii^y  during  my  sojourn  in  the  regions 

op  ice  and  snow ;  and  v/ho  has  for 

more  than  thirty  years  been 

a  hei,pmate  indeed, 

This  Volume  is  affectionately  Dedicated 
by  the  author 


QjU.^n:r^     ^  ^ 


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...TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.., 


CHAPTER  I. 


rkoat 


A  Little  Personal  Biography— Leaving  Seattle,  March  8, 1896— Forming  a  Partpef 
ship  on  Board  Ship — We  Reach  Juneau— On  the  Ocean  on  a  Fishing  Craft- 
Shipwrecked  at  Berncr's  Bay — A  Miraculous  Escape •  1 1 0 

CHAPTER  n. 

Dyea,  at  the  Foot  of  Chilkoot  Pass— Packing  One's  Goods— Sleds  and  Snow  Shoes 
— Camping  in  the  Snow— From  the  "Stone  House"  to  "Pleasant  Camp"— 
"  Double-tripping  "—Climbing  to  the  "  Summit"— 700  Feet  Up  a  Wall  of  Rock 
~Ci  ater  Lake— A  Precipitous  Dei^cen  t    -Lake  Lindeman  at  I^t  I 2G 

CHAPIER  HL 
Dangei^  and  Hardships  of  "'  ilkoot  Pass— Graphic  Description  by  T.  B.  Corey, 
Who  Crossed  It,  July,  idtf7— Exactions  of  the  Indian  Carriers— Buying  an 
Indian  Maiden  for  i6(>— Boat-Building  on  the  Lakes— The  Plainest  Food 
Tastes  Splendid 80 

CHAPTER  IV. 

"Kid,"  My  First  Eskimo  Dog— Across  Lake  Lindeman  on  a  Sled  Fitted  with  a 
Sail— Over  Lakes  Bennett  and  Le  Barge— Sledding  it  on  Fifty-Mile  River- 
Avoiding  the  Treacherous  White  Horse  Rapids — Its  Many  Victims— 
"Cacheing"  Our  Supplies— Nine  Days  Building  Our  Own  Crafts 80 

CHAPTER  V. 

Sailing  Down  Thirty-Mile  River— The  Perils  of  "Five-Fingers"— The  Funny 
Adventures  of  "Blizzard  Bill"— Ruins  of  Old  Fort  Selkirk— Here  the  Yukon 
Assumes  its  Name— I.  F.- Miller's  Experiences  on  the  Same  Route,  June,  1897 — 
Graveyards  by  the  White  Horse  Rapids , 44 

CHAPTER  VL 

On  the  Yukon  at  Last— The  Breaking-up  of  the  Ice  Jam— Entering  the  Stewart 
or  "Grub  Stake"  River— Poling  vs.  Rowing— The  Ferocious  Mahoney  In- 
dians— Dutch  John's  Bar— Jerking  Moose  Flesh— Digging  Gold  at  Sperry 
Bank— Prospecting  the  McQjtiestion  River — Looking  After  Supplies  and  Winter 
Quarters , 54 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  First  News  of  the  Klordyke  "  Strike  ■'— Old  Indian  the  News-Bearer— 
Reaching  Sixty-Mile  Pest— A  Storm  on  the  Yukon— Two  Claims  Staked  by 
My  Partners  on  Bonanza  Creek — We  Locate  TwO'More  on  the  then  Unknown 
El  Dorado  Creek— Plenty  of  Gold,  but  No  Supplies— Down  the  Yukon  After 
Food— A  Terrible  Jam  otIce-Floes 64 

CHAPTER  VIIL 

Was  There  Gold  in  Our  Claims?— The  Placer  Miner's  Ever  Reviving  Hopes— Is  it 
Clondyke.  Klondyke  or  Klondike?— The  Story  of  George  W.  McCormack, 
the  Original  Discoverer  of  this  Nature's  Treasure  House,  August  15,  1896. ...    72 

CHAPTER  IX. 
I  The  Birth  of  a  New  City— Joe  Ladue  Locates  Dawson,  September  1, 1896— Grows 
to  5,000  Inhabitants  as  if  by  Ma^ic— What  it  Costs  to  Live  There— One  Thou- 
sand Precious  Dogs— Wages  Paid  Unskilled  Labor— A  Boisterous  but  Orderly 
Crowd , 82 

CHAPTER  X. 

■y  Klondyke— Pitching  Our  Tent  on  the  El  Dorado  Creek— Building 
-Putting  Ourselvis  on  Rations— Our  First  Beefsteak  for  Months— 

cng  Our  First  Shaft  Down  to  Bed-Rock— Reaching  Pay  Dirt!— Fitty  Pol-     ,. 

-  •     ■  Pan— Working  With  a  Will  Tlirough  the  Dark  Winter  Days 


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CHAPTER  XL                                              ,^^^ 
Watchine  the  Neighbors'  Claims— £1  Dorado  Creek,  the  Richest  Placer  Mine  in 
the  World— Charles  Myers'  Banner  Pan  of  |800~Great  Difficulty  to  Get  Help, 
Even  at  |15  Per  Day— Our  4,000  Feet  of  Placer  Ground  Worth  #1(^875,000— 
Hundreds  of  Fine  Claims  Will  Show  up  NextSeason... 90 

CHAPTER  XH, 

Inventive  Genius  Never  Had  a  Better  Field— To  Extract  the  Frost  From  the 
Ground — Many  Grotesque  Devices— How  They  Prospect  on  the  Yukon — 
Winter  and  Summer  Diggings— A  Nuggertof  |82K>— Thawing  the  Pay  Streak- 
Sluicing  the  Gold 104 

CHAPTER  Xni. 

Definitions  of  the  Canadian  Mining  Laws— " Bar  Diggings;"  "Dry  Digginn;" 
"Creek  and  River  Claims;"  "Beach  Clainks"— The  "Representative  Sea- 
son"— How  to  Live  There — Dreary  Winters — Hungry  Summer  Pests— The 
Dog  Again:  the  Most  Precious  Friend  of  the  Klondyker— Salmon  Its  Food. . .  114 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Geological  Formation  of  the  Gold  Bearing  District— Where  Is  the  Mother-Lode — 

guartz  Croppings  —  "Quartz  Grinding"  Glaciers— Antediluvian  Skeletons 
alore— My  Theory  of  the  Gold  Formation.. 124 

CHAPTER  XV. 

One  Winter's  Work:  (224,000  in  Gold  Dust  and  Nuggets— I  Prepare  to  go  Home 
— "  H  tel  De  Bum"— Half  a  Million  Dollars  in  Buckskin  Sacks— Five  Gallon 
Oil  C    iS  Filled  WitI  i  Gold— A  Woman  Prospector  Worth  $250,000 129 

CHAPTET»  XVI. 

The  Yukon  Basin— Fish  and  Feather— All  Manner  of  Game — Indian  Way  of 
Hunting  Moose— The  Settlements  on  the  Great  River— Down  Stream  to  St 
Michaers— On  Board  the  "  Portland"— Fair  Seattle  Again  1 188 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

Fortunes  on  Board  the  "Portland"— The  Excitement  Reaches  Its  Climax— The 
Stampede  Northward  Begins — ^A  Graphic  Newspaper  Description  of  the  Rush 
—Inquiring  Visitors  and  Correspondents  by  the  Thousand—Off  to  San  Fran- 
cisco—Five Thousand  Six  Hundred  Shining  Double  Eagles  Stamped  Out  of 
MyKlondykeGold 140 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Great  Boundary  Question— A  Possible  Quarrel  Between  Uncle  Sam  and  John 
Bull— The  Anglo-Russian  Treaty  of  18£&— Russian  Rights  Transferred  to  Us 
in  1867— Possession  of  the  Lynn  Canal  in  Question — It  Commands  the  Over- 
land Routes  From  the  Coast  to  the  Gold  Fields— The  Seattle  Merchants' 
Petition 153 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Women  Tell  of  Their  Adventures  in  the  Yukon— Mrs.  Clarence  Berry's  Narra- 
tive—Panning Out  $7,000  Pin  Money— Mrs.  Thomas  Lipp^s  Letter— A  Model 
Housewife  at  the  Diggings 168 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Routes  to  Dawson  City— The  Principal  Transportation  Companies  Over  the 
All-Wate-  Route,  via  St.  Michael's— The  White  Pass  Route,  from  Sksguay 
Bay— A  Simple  but  Eloquent  Letter  from  a  Sturdy  Prospector 180 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Earlier  Stampedes  to  the  Northern  Gold  Fields— Famous  Australian  Discoveries — 
An  Arizona  Miner  on  the  Yukon  in  1882— The  Marvelous  Success  of  Young 
Henry  Dore— From  Want  to  Affluence— A  Grateful  Heart 188 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Outfit  and  Supplies  Needed  for  One  Man  One  Year— Outfit  for  Two  Men— Table 
of  Canadian  Customs  Duties  on  Goods  Needed  by  the  Miners 198 

CHAPTER  XXIIL 

Canadian  Mining  Laws  and  Regulations 206 


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A  MILE  OF  GOLD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  Little  Personal  Biography— Leaving  Seattle,  March 
8,  1896 — Forming  a  Partnership  on  Board  Ship— 
We  Beach  Juneau — On  the  Ocean  on  a  Fishing- 
Craft — Shipwrecked  at  Berner's  Bay— A  Miraculous 
Escape. 

Yes,  I  am  the  man  who  recently  returned  from 
the  ice-bound  regions  of  the  north  with  $112,000 
worth  of  dust  and  nuggets  taken  from  the  frozen 
earth  in  less  than  three  months.  It  is  gold.  The 
metal  the  whole  civilized  world  is  courting.  The 
one  thing  that  all  men  are  striving  to  win ;  the  deity 
before  which  universal  man  has  ever  bowed;  the 
material  sought  alike  by  the  tutored  and  the  un- 
tutored, the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked,  the  old  and  the  young,  the  strong  and 
the  weak,  the  Christian  and  the  heathen,  aye  by  all 
men  of  whatever  nationality,  religion  cr  condition. 

But  I  wander  from  my  text.  I  was  about  to  tell 
you  how  I  came  to  go.  Well  it  is  an  old  story. 
In  one  word  I  might  call  it  "hardupishness."  The 
striving  to  earn  a  maintenance  for  a  large  family, 
while  at  the  same  time  laying  by  the  requisite  store 
for  the  proverbial  rainy  day  which  is  sure  to  come, 
became  more  and  more  wearying.  Work  was  scarce 
with  many  a  needy  man  walking  the  street  not 

(9> 


10 


A  LITTLE  PERSONAL  BIOGRAPHY 


knowing  how  to  secure  a  subsistence  for  his  family. 
While  I  had  always  managed  to  provide  for  my 
people,  I  saw  no  way  whereby  I  could  lay  by  a 
sufficiency  for  my  old  age,  and  the  dread  of  getting 
out  of  work  was  at  times  horrible. 

My  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  Yukon 
gold  fields  by  the  reports  of  rich  strikes  on  Forty 
Mile,  Sixty  Mile,  Miller,  Glacier  and  Birch  Creeks, 
and  along  the  Thron  Duyck  river,  since  named 
Klondyke.  I  resolved  that  since  there  was  gold  in  the 
far  north  I  would  have  some  of  it,  despite  the  snow, 
ice,  blizzards  and  mosquitoes.  To  raise  the  wherewith 
to  procure  an  outfit  and  provide  for  my  family  while  I 
was  gone,  was  a  problem  that  must  first  be  solved. 
Finally  with  the  aid  of  a  son  of  mine,  who,  happily, 
had  steady  employment  I  managed  to  secure  an 
outfit  for  two,  taking  one  of  my  boys  with  me. 

But  enough  of  these  hard  luck  stories.  Pass  this 
chapter  by ;  and  let  us  hasten  on  to  the  narration  of 
success, — success  beyond  the  visions  of  my  most 
ardent  dreams. 

"Laugh  and  the  world  laughs  with  you. 
Weep  and  you  weep  alone." 

The  first  and  most  important  duty  to  be  attended 
to  in  making  preparations  for  a  trip  to  the  Yukon 
gold  fields  is  to  secure  an  outfit.  This  is  by  no 
means  an  easy  task.  So  many  Httle  things  must 
be  remembered,  for  in  those  regiohs  of  perpetual 
snow  there  is  but  little  chance  to  procure  tools, 
food  or  clothing.    One  must  have  plenty  of  sub- 


im 


mm 


.  *.-..■!  »Ui;!lflRp|lllJ,f^UM 


A  LITTLE  PERSONAL  BIOGRAPHY 


11 


stantial  food,  such  as  beans,  bacon  and  flour;  for  the 
climate  is  so  intensely  cold  that  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  the  stomach  well  filled.  Warm 
clothing  too  is  essential.  I  believe  that  1  spent 
more  time  and  care  in  stocking  my  wardrobe  for 
this  trip  than  the  average  dandy,  who  contemplates 
a  few  weeks  at  the  seashore,  would  bestow  upon 
his.  Heavy  woolen  goods  had  to  be  selected  and 
oil  skins  purchased.  In  the  way  of  tools  we  needed 
shovels,  picks  and  pans  for  mining,  and  a  whipsaw, 
jack-plane,  draw-knife,  axe,  hatchet,  rule,  nails, 
oakum,  pitrh,  rope  and  mosquito  netting. 

Then  came  the  leave-taking  from  relatives,  friends 
and  neighbors.  I  realized  that  I  was  bidding  good- 
bye to  civilization  for  a  long  period,  perhaps  for- 
ever to  brave  the  dangers  of  an  arctic  region,  to 
be  menaced  by  wild  beasts  and  blizzards,  climbing 
rocks  and  precipices  where  a  single  misstep  might 
plunge  one  into  a  gorge  hundreds  of  feet  below; 
perhaps  to  be  frozen  to  death,  or  worse  still  to  die 
of  starvation;  shooting  rapids  where  a  misstroke 
would  prove  fatal  or  a  hidden  rock  might  send  me 
into  eternity. 

But  all  these  dangers  were  lost  sight  of  in  the 
pain  of  bidding  farewell  to  a  loving  wife  and  fond 
children.  It  is  this  that  tries  a  man's  nerve.  To 
keep  a  smiling  face  and  light  heart  when  you  are 
receiving  the  good-byes  of  wife  and  family  is  no 
easy  task.  But  then  the  hope  of  an  early  return 
loaded  with  the  treasii-  ^s  of  the  north  was  a  power- 
ful solace,  and  perhaps  restrained  thetearsthat  strong 


12 


LEAVING  SEATTLE 


men  of  times  find  it  difficult  to  controL    Finally, 

we  had  gotten  ail  on  board  the  boat  and  waived  a 
last  good-bye,  from  the  deck  of  the  steamer  "Alki," 
to  family  and  friends,  and  found  ourselves  steaming 
towards  the  Mecca  of  our  hopes.  We  left  Seattle 
March  8,  1896,  and  as  the  "Quee.i  City"  faded 
from  view,  I,  for  my  part  could  not  help  feeling 
somewhat  homesick.  However,  my  thoughts  soon 
turned  to  the  yellow  nuggets  in  the  far  north  and 
hope  again  ran  high. 

Seattle  is  situated  on  Puget  Sound  and  has  a 
population  of  about  70,000.  It  is  the  largest  city 
in  the  State  of  Washington  and  bids  fair  to  become 
the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  northwest.  In  1889, 
the  entire  business  portion  was  totally  destroyed  by 
fire.  This,  however,  was  no  drawback,  for  hardly 
had  the  ashes  become  cold,  before  men  were  at 
work  erecting  massive  stone  and  brick  buildings 
upon  the  ruins.  This  same  spirit  of  enterprise  is 
displayed  at  all  times  and  no  emergency  can  exist 
that  its  business  men  are  not  equal  to.  Surrounded 
by  salt  water  on  the  one  hand  and  beautiful  fresh 
water  lakes  on  the  other,  with  snow-capped  mot*  i- 
tains  in  full  view  on  either  side.  Mt.  Rainer  (14,444 
feet  in  altitude)  60  miles  to  the  southeast;  Mt.  Baker 
to  tL'j  north;  the  Olympics  to  the  west  and  the 
Cascade  Range  forming  the  background  toward 
the  east,  make  its  scenery  perhaps  the  grandest  and 
most  picturesque  on  earth.  Add  to  this  a  climate 
seldom  too  hot  or  too  cold,  and  is  it  a  wonder  that 
when  I  contemplated  the  radical  change  I  had  de- 


mm 


mgMm 


LEAVING  SEATTLE 


la 


cided  upon,  hope  should  for  a  while  be  darkened 
by  regret. 

Forty  miles  down  the  Sound  is  Point  Townsend, 
the  port  of  entry  for  the  district  comprising  the 
State  of  Washington.  It  is  a  small  town  of  about 
5,000  inhabitants,  picturesquely  situated  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Straits  of  San  Juan  de  Fuca  and 
Puget  Sound. 

Our  next  stop  was  at  Victoria,  across  the  Straits 
of  San  Juan  de  Fuca.  Victoria  is  the  capital  city 
of  British  Columbia  and  is  the  metropolis  of  a  large 
area  of  British  territory. 

After  leaving  Victoria,  we  might  be  said  to  be 
fully  started,  as  no  stop  was  to  be  made  until  we 
had  reached  far-away  Alaska.  From  here  our 
course  was  northwest,  through  the  Gulf  of  Georgia 
and  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  running  between  Van- 
couver Island,  the  largest  island  along  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  the  mainland. 

On  a  voyag-  J  this  character  the  formalities  of 
society  are  to  a  great  extent  dropped  and  acquaint- 
ances are  soon  formed.  In  many  cases  lasting 
friendships  and  permanent  business  connections 
are  the  outgrowth  of  such  chance  meetings.  Thus 
it  was  in  our  case.  Among  our  fellow  passengers, 
all  of  whom  were  interesting,  were  two  boys  who 
were  natives  of  New  York  State.  We  seemed  to 
fall  in  with  them  from  the  start  and  before  we  had 
been  long  in  their  company  resolved  to  pool  our 
issues  and  succeed  or  fail  together.  These  men 
were  two  brothers,  Gage  and  Charles  Worden. 


r 


14 


FORMING  A  PARTNERSHIP 


t(i~ 


From  this  time  on  our  party  consisted  of  four,  and 
our  interests  have  not  been  divided  since. 

The  weather  was  good,  the  trip,  in  the  main, 
pleasant,  and  we  reached  Juneau  without  further  in- 
cident. At  Juneau  we  had  to  disembark  and  make 
as  far  as  Skaguay  Bay  and  Dyea,  but  at  that  time 
there  were  not  many  passengers  going  north  of 
Juneau  and  the  boats  therefore  did  not  run  farther. 

Juneau  was  then  a  town  of  two  thousand  inhab- 
itants and  the  metropoHs  of  Alaska.  It  is  situated 
at  the  base  of  a  mountain  about  three  thousand 
feet  high,  which  rises  almost  perpendicular  to  its 
summit.  The  flat  space,  between  tide  water  and 
the  base  of  this  mountain,  is  not  very  extensive  and 
is  already  well  filled  with  houses.  The  citizens 
seemed  to  be  prosperous  and  the  place  in  general 
had  the  appearance  of  a  live  mining  town.  Water 
works  and  an  electric  light  plant  are  among  the 
modern  improvements.  It  is  the  outfitting  point 
for  resident  prospectors  starting  for  the  interior, 
and  is  the  winter  headquarters  for  the  miners  of  the 
surrounding  country. 

It  was  the  most  northern  station  of  the  "Puget 
Sound  and  Alaskan  Steamship  Company"  and 
therefore  a  resting  place  for  Alaska  tourists. 

When  I  returned,  a  little  ove*  a  year  later,  I 
learned  that  a  short  time  had  worked  a  great  change 
in  this  northern  metropolis.  Nearly  all  of  its  in- 
habitants had  joined  the  stampede  and  rushed  to 
the  Klondyke,  taking  with  them  all  the  available 
dogs,  for  which  the  city  had  become  so  famous. 


ii 


m^lmtkt 


mm 


^jffffg^^fmmFm^fvwm"  '  '  'iwj'i . .. 


"Wr 


'     ■■-^^■f 


A  GLIMPSE  AT  JUNEAU 


15 


four,  and 

the  main, 
[urther  in- 
and  make 

that  time 
;  north  of 
un  farther, 
and  inhab- 

is  situated 
;  thousand 
:ular  to  its 

water  and 
tensive  and 
'he  citizens 
:  in  general 
wn.    Water 

among  the 
itting  point 
the  interior, 
liners  of  the 


This  is  the  case  with  nearly  all  the  Alaskan  towns. 
They  have  become  almost  deserted  on  account  of 
the  rush  to  the  interior. 

At  Juneau  we  expected  to  take  passage  in  a  small 
steamboat  called  the  'Rustler,"  but,  as  her  boilers 
had  recently  been  condemned  by  the  government 
Inspector  of  Hulls  and  Boilers,  we  had  to  seek  other 
means  of  transportation.  After  looking  around 
some  time,  we  found  that  the  best  we  could  do  in 
this  line  was  to  charter  a  small  fishing  boat  that 
lay  in  the  harbor.  The  master  of  this  craft  assured 
us  that  she  could  ride  any  sea,  and  that  he  would 
guarantee  to  land  us  safely  at  Dyea  in  a  short  time. 
So,  highly  elated  over  our  success  in  securing  it, 
we  closed  the  bargain  and  soon  had  our  outfits 
aboard  and  were  again  on  our  way  north. 

Dyea  is  about  one  hundred  miles  from  Juneau 
by  boat  and  we  should  have  sailed  over  the  dis- 
tance in  two  or  three  days.  But  owing  to  a  gale 
which  wrecked  us  we  lost  five  days  on  the  way. 
When  about  fifty  miles  out  from  Juneau  we  en- 
countered a  storm  which  beat  against  us  from  -ea- 
ward.  The  wind  was  violent  and  the  sea  ran  very 
high.  So  strong  were  the  combined  forces  of  these 
elements  that  we  were  driven  against  the  rocks  and 
the  boat  stove  in.  When  the  storm  struck  us  we 
tried  to  hold  her  out  at  sea,  but  little  by  little  we 
were  forced  landward  until  we  gave  up  hope  and 
prepared  ourselves  to  bow  to  the  mevitable.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  exciting  moments  in  my  life 
and  was  an  experience  that  I  do  not  care  to  repeat. 


^•^ 


16    ON  THE  OCEAN  ON  A  FISHING  CRAFT 


If  you  have  never  been  shipwrecked,  no  pen  can 
describe  to  you  the  terrible  sensation  of  such  a  dis- 
aster. In  an  awful  suspense — worse  a  thousand 
times  than  the  most  dreadful  certainty — ^we  were 
drifting  slowly  towards  certain  destruction  and 
expected  every  minute  to  be  dashed  against  a  rock 
and  called  before  our  Maker.  The  wind  howled 
through  the  rigging  like  a  legion  of  demons  let 
loose  from  Hades  to  make  our  entrance  into  eter- 
nity more  dreadfil.  The  waves,  mountain  high, 
leaped  over  each  other  like  Indians  after  the  scalp 
of  a  wounded  foe,  in  their  mad  anxiety  to  claim 
another  victim  for  the  cruel  ocean.  The  timbers 
shivered  and  squeaked  as  a  leafless  forest  whipped 
by  the  hand  of  a  blizzard  and  threatened  every 
moment  to  yield  to  the  blows  of  the  mighty  waves. 
The  mast  was  carried  away  with  a  report  like  the 
electric  forerunner  of  a  Kansas  shower.  Soon  the 
scene  was  veiled  in  darkness  so  dense  as  to 
almost  defy  the  piercing  shaft  of  the  IC  rays.  The 
whole  formed  a  combination  of  horrors  that  froze 
the  blood  in  the  veins  and  the  marrow  in  the  bones, 
and  made  our  past  life  pass  before  our  mind's  eye 
like  lightning.  Drifting  slowly  towards  the  break- 
ers, we  could  hear  their  deafening  roar  even  above 
the  howling"  of  the  tempest.  Closer!  Closer! 
Closer!  Ah!  Thank  Heaven!  the  clouds  had  lifted. 
But,  alas !  only  to  show  us  the  white  line  that  meant 
certain  destruction.  Fortunately,  however,  with  the 
light  came  a  cessation  of  the  storm,  and  as  we  drilted 
nearer,  our  boat  stripped  of  her  rigging  and  abso- 


H^ 


RAFT 


ON  THE  OCEAN  ON  A  FISHING  CRAFT     17 


0  pen  can 
such  a  dis- 

thousand 
— ^we  were 
iction   and 
inst  a  rock 
ind  howled 
demons  let 
e  into  eter- 
ntain  high, 
er  the  scalp 
ty  to  claim 
rhe  timbers 
est  whipped 
itened  every 
ighty  waves, 
port  like  the 
r.    Soon  the 
iense   as  to 

1  rays.    The 
►rs  that  froze 
in  the  bones, 
ir  mind's  eye 
ds  the  break- 
ir  even  above 
)ser!     Closer! 
Ads  had  lifted, 
ne  that  meant 
rever,  with  the 
d  as  we  drifted 
ing  and  abso- 


lutely at  the  mercy  of  the  waves,  we  found  that  the 
line  of  breakers  were  close  to  the  shore,  and  hope 
again  rose  in  our  breasts.  Perhaps  we  could  yet 
get  near  enough  to  swim  ashore  ere  we  perished  in 
the  cold  water.  Closer!  Closer!  Closer!  Could  we 
ride  the  swell  and  pass  on  the  inside?  At  last  we 
were  on  the  crest  and  by  an  extraordinary  stroke  of 
luck  passed  over  the  outside  breakers.  O!  the  joy 
of  being  again  reasonably  safe;  perhaps  yet  would 
we  be  saved.  Ah!  the  anticipation.  How  different 
from  looking  forward  to  a  certain  death!  The 
blood  again  tingled  in  our  veins  and  as  we  drifted 
still  nearer  to  the  shore  we  knew  we  were  raved. 
Suddenly  the  boat  struck  a  rock  with  such  a  mighty 
crash  that  it  stove  her  bottom  into  kindlings.  But, 
as  she  settled  never  to  rise  again,  we  found  that  the 
water  was  only  to  our  waists.  A  short  wade  and 
we  would  be  on  the  beach.  But  now  our  thoughts 
turned  to  rescuing  our  supplies.  We  must  save 
them  at  all  hazards,  for  it  would  be  far  worse  to  ue 
of  hunger  than  to  find  agrave  in  the  deep,  green  sea. 
We  struggled  with  the  waves  and  after  hours  of  in- 
cessant toil,  soaked  and  chilled  to  the  bone,  we  had 
our  belongings  all  on  the  beach,  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  water.  Thankful  for  our  lives,  we  accepted  the 
situation  without  a  murmur  and  when  "We  discovered 
that  our  stock  of  food  supplies  was  almost  ruined 
we  made  no  complaint. 

Out  of  the  two  tons  of  provisions  but  little  was 
saved.  The  flour  and  bacon,  fortunately,  were  so 
securely  tight,  done  up  in  oilskins,  that  they  were 


^ 


18 


SHIPWRECKED  AT  BERNER'S  BAY 


kept  dry.  Our  coffee,  tea,  sugar,  evaporated  fruit, 
and  provisions  of  a  lighter  nature  were  absolutely 
ruined  and  while  the  loss  was  great,  we  felt  that 
we  had  come  out  of  this  adventure  very  fortunately 
indeed.  As  we  had  a  waterproof  match  case  well 
filled  with  matches  we  were  enabled  to  build  a  fire, 
and  we  lost  no  time  in  doing  so.  After  drying  our 
blankets  and  eating  some  of  such  stuff  as  we  had 
saved  from  the  wreck  we  wrapped  ourselves  up  and 
were  soon  asleep,  leaving  the  morrow  to  take  care 
of  itself. 

In  the  morning  the  question  of  how  to  get  out 
of  this  wilderness  was  discussed.  After  talking  it 
over  we  decided  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
continue  overland  as  the  surrounding  country  was 
nothing  but  precipices  and  ravines.  We  concluded 
to  wait  on  shore  and  take  the  chances  of  attracting 
the  notice  of  some  passing  boat,  as  we  could  be 
distinctly  seen  from  the  deck  of  any  vessel  sailing  or 
steaming  between  Juneau  and  Dyea. 

We  immediately  set  a  watch,  that  no  craft  could 
pass  unseen,  and  waited  anxiously  for  the  sign  of  a 
sail.  At  last,  after  five  days  of  weary  watching,  we 
sighted  a  small  steamer  evidently  bound  for  Dyea 
and  we  finally  succeeded  in  attracting  the  attention 
of  those  on  board.  She  put  down  her  helm  and 
steered  towards  us.  When  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
a  boat  was  lowered  and  we  were  soon  safely  on  board 
with  such  supplies  as  had  been  saved  from  the 
wreck.  Imagine  our  surprise  when  we  found  that 
the  steamer  was  the  "Rustler"  rigged  out  with  new 


re 


BAY 

)rated  fruit, 
absolutely 
we  felt  that 
fortunately 
h  case  well 
build  a  fire, 
drying  our 
as  we  had 
Ives  up  and 
to  take  care 

V  to  get  out 
er  talking  it 
tnpossible  to 
country  was 
Ve  concluded 
of  attracting 
we  could  be 
ssel  sailing  or 


SHIPWRECKED  AT  BERNER'S  BAY 


19 


boilers  which  gave  the  craft  a  general  appearance  of 
safety.  We  could  not  repress  a  feeling  of  chagrin 
when  we  thought  of  how  we  might  have  escaped  the 
horrible  experience  of  the  last  few  days,  together 
with  the  loss  attending  it,  if  we  had  but  restrained 
our  impatience  and  waited  until  we  could  have  pro- 
ceeded with  safety  in  the  renovated  steamer. 

As  we  steamed  out  of  Bemer's  Bay,  the  scene  of 
our  shipwreck  and  disaster,  we  felt  thankful  that  we 
had  escaped  with  our  lives, having, however, learned 
a  lesson  of  patience  that  was  of  service  to  us  during 
the  rest  of  the  trip.  March  27,  we  landed  at  Dyea, 
having  been  nineteen  days  enroute  from  Seattle. 


10  craft  could 
the  sign  of  a 
watching,  we 
md  for  Dyea 
the  attention 
ler  helm  and 
irter  of  a  mile, 
afely  on  board 
led  from  the 
ve  found  that 
out  with  new 


CHAPTER  11. 


Dyea,  at  the  foot  of  Chilkoot  Pass — ^Packing  One's 
Goods — Sleds  and  Snow  Shoes — Camping  in  the 
Snow — From  the  **Stone  House"  to  "Pleasure 
Camp" — "Double-tripping" — Climbing  to  the  "Sum- 
mit"—700  Feet  up  a  Wall  of  Rock— Crater  Lake 
—A  Precipitous  Descent — ^Lake  Lindeman  at  Last! 

Dyea  is  situated  at  the  head  of  steamboat  naviga- 
tion at  the  extreme  northern  end  of  the  Chilkoot 
inlet,  a  branch  of  the  Lynn  Canal.  It  is  one  thou- 
sand and  seventy-six  nautical  miles  from  Seattle  and 
about  seven  hundred  miles  by  the  lake  and  river 
route  from  Dawson  city. 

At  Dyea  we  had  an  opportunity  to  replenish  our 
stock,  which  we  readily  embraced,  although  the 
prices  were  quite  high.  There  is  a  small  store  here, 
owned  by  Healy  &  Wilson,  and  managed  by  S. 
Ripinski,  who  is  also  postmaster,  and  a  very 
affable  and  accommodating  business  man.  Dyea  can- 
not be  called  a  town,  though  a  United  States  post 
office  has  been  established  here.  Aside  from  this 
store,  which  is  a  sort  of  hotel  also,  there  are  but  few 
buildings.  A  short  distance  up  the  Creek  is  Haines* 
Presbyterian  Mission,  which  is  the  home  of  the 
Chilkat  Indians.  These  Indians  are  civiHzed  and 
are  taught  the  English  language  in  the  mission 
school.  It  is  upon  them  that  the  traveler  has  to 
depend  to  have  his  supplies  transported  Qver  the 

(20) 


1 


king  One's 
ing  in  the 
"Pleasure 
0  the  ''Sum- 


Crater  Lake 
Lan  at  Last! 

^B  ^ 

)oat  naviga- 
le  Chilkoot 

s  one  Ihou- 

^H  ° 

i  Seattle  and 

i^H  S 

:e  and  river 

H; 

eplenish  our 
though   the 
11  store  here, 

^H  ^ 

laged  by  S. 
md   a   very 
ti.  Dyea  can- 

WW     H 

P  '4  * 

States  post 
de  from  this 

hb  ^ 

I  are  but  few 

;k  is  Haines' 

^K  ^ 

lome  of  the 

t^H 

civilized  and 

Hb 

the  mission 

^B 

veler  has  to 

^B 

ted  over  the 

I^B 

"  1 

m 


mmm 


m«''\Uymm> 


^m^m^fmifl'W 


WHAT  DYEA  LOOKED  LIKE 

Chilkoot  Pass.  Half  a  mile  below  the  store  and 
post  office  is  a  wharf,  though  only  a  temporary 
affair,  and  here  is  where  our  goods  were  landed. 
The  large  steamers  cannot  make  a  landing  here,  as 
the  channel  is  shallow,  and  cargoes  are  therefore 
discharged  on  lighters,  which  are  towed  alongside 
the  wharf  and  unloaded. 

From  Dyea  it  is  twenty-seven  miles  in  a  northerly 
direction  to  Lake  Lindeman.  It  is,  however,  the 
most  difficult  road  that  I  have  ever  traveled.  I 
doubt  if  there  is  another  such  trail  on  the  American 
continent.  It  is  by  far  the  roughest  part  of  the 
journey.  A  canoe  or  boat  may  be  used  for  a  dis- 
tance of  about  six  miles  from  Dyea,  which  reduces  the 
distanceoverwhichsuppliesmustotherwisebe  hauled 
or  packed  to  twenty-one  miles..  These  twenty-one 
miles,  however,  are  in  places  almost  perpendicular 
and  the  trail  resembles  an  immense,  disorderly  stone 
quarry  set  on  edge.  We  did  most  of  our  packing 
ourselves,  but  employed  the  natives  to  pack  some  of 
our  stuff  for  a  distance  of  about  seven  hundred  feet 
for  which  we  paid  $1.50  per  hundred.  This  heavy 
expense  acted  as  a  sort  of  inducement  to  rid  our- 
selves of  everything  that  we  could  not  put  to  good 
use  in  the  interior.  The  spiing  season,  before  the 
snow  mehs,  is  the  most  favorable  time  to  make  the 
trip.  Supplies  may  then  be  hauled  on  sleds  and  a 
man  or  dog  can  easily  haul  several  times  as  much 
as  one  can  pack.  About  the  middle  of  April  the 
thaw  begins,  when  the  snow  becomes  soft  and  \t  is 
almost  impossible  to  make  the  trip  at  all.    A  sled 


32       PACKING  GOODS  ACROSS  THE  PASS 


should  be  made  from  strong  tough  wood,  but 
should  be  as  light  as  possible.  If  shod  with  brass, 
it  wfU  draw  much  easier  than  if  shod  with  steel,  as 
in  extremely  cold  weather,  when  steel  is  full  of  frost, 
it  is  gritty  and  adheres  to  the  now  and  ice.  A  little 
water  sprayed  from  the  mouth  on  the  shoe  of  the 
sled  will  instantly  congeal  and  form  a  surface  of  ice 
thai  will  wear  quite  a  long  time;  when  it  is  worn 
oflf  the  process  can  be  repeated  and  by  keeping  the 
runners  well  iced  in  this  way  the  haul  is  made  less 
burdensome.  The  latives  do  not  use  nails  or  bolts, 
but  bind  the  joints  with  thongi,  so  that  in  case  the 
sled  is  capsized  the  strain  will  not  be  so  positive  and 
intense,  the  joints  giving  rather  than  breaking.  An 
ideal  sled  is  a  little  over  seven  feet  long,  seven 
inches  high  and  about  sixteen  inches  wide;  if  too 
high  it  will  capsize  more  easily,  and  if  too  wide  dif- 
ficulty will  be  encountered  in  passing  narrow  places 
in  the  trail.  Besides  this,  it  is  the  proper  width  to 
track  behind  snow  shoes. 

Supplies  may  be  packed  on  the  back,  hauled  oa 
sleds  or  carried  over  on  horses,  mules,  dogs  or 
burros.  If  a  bundle  or  package  is  to  be  carried  any 
distance  it  is  more  easily  conveyed  by  the  use  of 
pack  straps.  This  is  a  familiar  article  in  the  west, 
but  in  the  east  it  is  not  so  well  known.  It  is  made 
from  leather  or  other  vStrong  material  and  consists  of 
a  wide  strap  to  run  over  each  shoulder  passing  un- 
der the  arms  and  fastened  to  cross  straps  by  means 
of  rivets.  The  package  is  then  fastened  to  this  con- 
trivance and  the  arms  slipped  through  the  loops. 


T'm 


ss 

)od,  but 
th  brass, 
steel,  as 
of  frost, 
A  little 
DC  of  the 
ice  of  ice 
:  is  worn 
Bping  the 
■nade  less 
i  or  bolts, 
I  case  the 
sitive  and 
iing.    An 
ng,  seven 
de;  if  too 
>  wide  dif- 
row  places 
r  width  to 

hauled  ou 
;,  dogs  or 
carried  any 
the  use  of 
1  the  west, 
It  is  made 

consists  of 
)assing  un- 
s  by  means 
to  this  con- 

the  loops. 


SLEDS  AND  SNOW  SHOES 


23 


The  weight  is  thereby  transferred  to  the  shoulders 
and  back  and  it  leaves  the  arms  and  hands  free  to  aid 
in  walking  and  climbing.  Another  method  is  to  take 
a  common  gunny  sack  and  tie  a  piece  of  strong 
cloth  about  two  feet  long  to  the  opposite  corners, 
lengthwise.  By  this  means,  sixty  po-mds  may  be 
carried  quite  comfortably  by  an  ordinary  man, 
though  some  carry  as  much  as  one  hundred. 

We  started  from  Dyea  immediately  upon  our 
arrival,  not  caring  to  contemplate  the  mountains 
that  rose  in  our  front  Uke  immense  snow-banks 
until  we  had  lost  heart.  About  five  miles  up  the 
Chilkat  River,  we  first  went  into  camp  in  a  sheltered, 
well  timbered  spot.  After  pitching  our  tent  on  the 
snow  we  brought  out  such  things  as  we  would  need 
for  immediate  use,  stove,  blankets,  food,  etc.,  and 
prepared  to  make  ourselves  comfortable  until  our 
goods  were  packed  ahead.  We  set  our  stove,  which 
was  made  from  sheet  iron,  on  a  gridiron.  This  is 
made  by  placing  three  poles  about  eight  feet  long  on 
the  snow.  The  stove  is  then  arranged  on  them  in 
such  a  manner  that,  when  the  snow  melts  from  un- 
derneath it,  the  poles  form  a  support; 

Next  we  cut  boughs  from  the  surrounding  hem- 
locks and  piled  them  on  the  snow,  until  we  had  a 
bed  of  them  about  eighteen  mches  deep.  We  had 
a  canvas  spread,  which  we  placed  over  this  to 
protect  us  from  the  dampness,  and  found  that  we 
had  a  bed  that  was  positively  luxurious  to  «^.^^gry 
man.  The  "springs"  were  very  sensitive,  shaptig 
themselvec  readily  to  the  form  of  the  body  and  the 


24 


CAMPING  IN  THE  SNOW 


"mattress"  was  as  soft  as  wool.  After  preparing 
supper  we  wrapped  ourselves  in  our  blankets  and 
slept  as  only  those  with  a  clear  conscience  and  ex- 
hausted bodies  can.  We  awoke,  the  next  morning, 
very  much  refreshed  and  went  at  our  outfit  with 
such  vim  that  we  had  a  large  portion  of  it  up  to 
camp  ere  the  shades  of  night  again  fell  around  us. 

From  the  landing  to  our  camp  at  the  head  of 
Dyea  canyon,  we  were  enabled  to  haul  our  goods 
on  sleds  over  the  Chilkat  river,  which  at  this  time 
of  year  is  frozen  up,  thus  making  an  easy,  level 
route.  This  camp  is  known  as  "Stone  House,"  be- 
cause of  a  rock  which  nature  has  carved  to  resemble 
such  a  structure.  It  is  the  first  camp  out  from  Dyea. 
When  we  returned  after  the  final  load,  we  left  the 
last  vestige  of  civilization  behind  us  and  turned  our 
backs  to  the  outside  world.  We  could  not  repress 
some  feeling  of  regret  at  being  thus  cut  off  entirely 
from  any  source  of  communication  with  those  we 
loved  who  would  not  know  for  months,  and  even 
years  perhaps,  whether  we  were  still  in  this  world  or 
not. 

When  we  had  brought  the  last  of  our  outfits 
forward  to  "Stone  House,"  we  commenced  to  put  it 
ahead  through  Dyea  Canyon  and  on  to  Pleasant 
Camp,  a  strip  of  woods  about  three  miles  long,  and 
cached  them  here.  This  we  did  by  sections  as  be- 
fore, which  in  miner's  parlance  is  called  "double- 
trippi'^'^."  Here  the  incline  was  too  steep  for  the 
use  oi  sleds  and  we  had  to  pack  everything  on  our 
backs.    Each  of  us  took  but  50  pounds  at  a  time; 


"STONE  HOUSE"  TO  "PLEASANT  CAMP"     25 

we  could  go  right  along  with  this  and  were  enabled 
to  make  four  trips  a  day.  We  met  others  on  the 
trail,  however,  who  carried  one  hundred  pounds, 
but  they  had  to  rest  every  few  minutes  and  were 
a  great  annoyance  to  those  who  were  packing 
lighter  loads  but  making  better  time,  as  the  trail 
is  narrow  and  a  great  deal  of  trouble  is  experienced 
in  getting  around  the  stragglers.  They  would  at 
times  block  up  the  trail  for  a  long  distance  and, 
though  it  is  a  free  highway,  we  could  not  but  feel 
that  they  did  not  have  a  proper  regard  for  the  rights 
of  others. 

It  is  here  where  many  people  give  up  the  struggle 
and  turn  back.  At  times,  the  trail  is  full  of  men, 
with  sore  backs  and  feet,  lying  on  the  snow  in  utter 
despair.  Many  even  weep  with  disappointment.  As 
a  rule,  however,  after  they  have  become  hardened 
and  have  learned  the  lesson  of  patience,  they  con- 
tinue forward  and  by  the  time  they  have  pitched 
their  tents  at  "Sheep's  Camp"  they  are  as  hardened 
as  a  mule  and  as  patient  as  an  ox  under  their  heavy 
burdens.  As  soon  as  we  had  everything  cached 
at  "Pleasant  Camp,"  we  struck  camp  at  "Stone 
House"  and  moved  our  stove,  tent,  ett.,  forward  to 
"Sheep's  Camp,"  so  called  on  account  of  the  wild 
sheep  that  congregate  there  among  the  trees  in  win- 
ter, where  the  Indians  hunt  and  slay  them.  It  Is 
located  on  the  timber  line  and  near  the  base  of  a 
steep  incline  the  top  of  which  is  called  the  "Sum- 
mit." After  getting  our  tent,  stove,  and  bedding 
arranged  comfortably  as  before,  we  started  back  and 


^'4 


m 


26 


"DOUBLETRIPPING" 


worked  our  outfit  up,  pushing  it  ahead  and  caching 
it  at  the  base  of  a  steep  approach  to  the  summit, 
about  seven  miles  beyond  "Sheep's  Camp." 

From  this  camping  ground  no  progress  can  be 
made  except  on  days  when  the  wind  is  still  and  the 
sky  "clear.  Many  times  we  started  out  in  the  morn- 
ing but  had  to  return.  The  cold,  bleak  wind  at 
times  would  sweep  doavn  from  the  summit,  driv- 
ing the  newly  fallen  snow  with  such  force  that 
it  would  cut  like  powdered  glass  from  a  blow 
pipe.  There  is  a  raise  here  of  three  thousand 
feet  in  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  and  hardy  indeed 
is  he  who  does  not  drop  by  the  wayside.  Often 
an  avalanche  or  snow-slide  coming  over  the  preci- 
pices above  will  cover  the  goods  cached  here,  scat- 
tering them  to  the  four  winds  or  burying  them 
many  feet  under  snow  and  ice.  Then  Indians  have 
to  be  employed  who  prod  around  with  long  hooked 
poles  and  fish  them  out.  We,  however,  escaped 
this  misfortune.  It  may  be  that  the  god  of  the 
Yukon  deemed  our  shipwreck  sufficient  chastise- 
ment for  daring  to  pry  into  the  secrets  of  his  do- 
mains. 

Our  next  move  was  an  ascent  of  seven  hundred 
feet  that  is  almost  perpendicular.  We  looked  at 
our  burdens  and  then  at  the  obstacles  beyond  and 
grew  faint-hearted.  Steps  had  to  be  cut  into  the 
snow  and  ice  all  the  way  to  the  top  and  the  obstruc- 
tions mounted  as  by  a  ladder.  Seven  hundred  feet 
of  actual  climbing  with  only  ice  and  snow  to  grasp 
and  with  a  pack  of  fifty  pounds  dragging  us  back, 


ml 


'.« 'mm 


CLIMBING  TO  THE  SUMMIT 


S7 


seemingly  determined  to  plunge  us  to  the  bottom, 
was  a  task  that  we  could  not  accomplish.  We  made 
a  contract  with  the  Indians  to  have  our  outfit  taken 
from  here  to  the  summit  for  $1.50  per  hundred.  In 
making  this  contract  we  dealt  with  the  chief  alone. 
The  Indians  look  to  him  in  all  matters  of  business 
and  carry  out  his  contracts  without  a  murmur.  The 
chief  of  the  Chilkats  is  known  by  the  Biblical  cog- 
nomen of  Chief  Isaac.  How  he  obtained  this  an- 
cip-'t  appellation  is  not  known.  But  in  him  the 
tribe  have  a  bright  intelligent  ruler  and  one  who 
conducts  the  affairs  of  their  nation  with  profit,  credit 
and  horior  to  them,  and  to  himself  as  well. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Peterson,  a  native  of 
King  Oscar's  domains,  has  since  invented  a  con- 
trivance for  lifting  burdens  up  this  steep  incline. 
He  anchors  a  pulley  at  the  top  through  which  he 
passes  a  rope,  to  which  is  attached  a  box,  rigged  on 
runners.  A  loaded  sled  is  made  fast  to  the  rope  at 
the  bottom,  the  box  is  then  filled  with  snow,  to 
which  is  added  the  weight  of  the  inventor  and  such 
other  men  as  may  be  at  hand.  When  this  loaded 
box  descends  it  pulls  the  sled  up,  where  it  is  de- 
tached. The  box  is  th  -^n  unloaded  and  drawn  back 
to  the  top  when  the  operation  is  repeated  as  before. 

As  soon  as  the  Indians  had  finished  carrying  our 
supplies  to  the  top  of  the  summit  we  bound  the 
goods  solidly  to  the  sleds  and  started  them  down 
the  mountain  on  the  other  side.  Here  the  pass  is 
so  steep  that  we  could  not  hold  them  back,  so  we 
were  obliged  to  turn  them  loose  and  let  them  go. 


CRATER  LAKE 


They  sped  down  the  decline  like  a  ball  from  a  can- 
non and  in  an  instant,  almost  as  fast"  as  the  eye  could 
follow,  had  reached  the  bottom  and  shot  out  on 
Crater  Lake  a  distance  of  a  half  a  mile.  Of  course 
the  lake  was  solidly  frozen  at  the  time. 

Crater  Lake,  so  called  because  it  resembles  a 
basin  set  in  the  summit  of  a  mountain  peak,  was  at 
one  time  the  crater  of  a  huge  living  volcano;  it  is 
about  a  mile  across  each  way.  A  perpendicular 
bank  of  some  six  feet  in  height  confines  the  lake  at 
this  point  and  as  the  sled  clears  this  at  a  bound  it 
lands  more  than  thirty  feet  out  on  the  ice  and  then 
continues,  slowly  loosing  its  speed  until  the  center 
of  the  lake  is  reached,  where  it  comes  to  a  standstill. 

Some  prospectors  prefer  riding  their  loads  down 
this  precipitous  path  but  we  did  not  care'  to  take  the 
chances,  as  we  considered  this  as  recklessly  endan- 
gering life,  and  amounting  almost  to  premeditated 
suicide.  We  cached  our  first  loads  here  on  the  lake 
and  returned  drawing  our  sleds  up  the  steep  ascent. 
This  we  repeated  until  we  had  transferred  our  entire 
supplies.  After  strapping  on  our  last  loads  we 
looked  back  from  the  summit  upon  the  broad  Paci- 
fic, twenty  miles  away.  A  boundless  ocean  of  green, 
stretching  out  to  the  south  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach  until  it  formed  the  horizon  with  the  blue 
canopy  overhead.  Pacific?  Ah!  did  we  not  remem- 
ber how  but  a  few  weeks  ago,  it  had  almost  closed 
around  us  its  cold  embrace  of  death?  Surely  it  was 
wild  enough  then  and,  as  our  thoughts  went  back 
to  those  awful  moments,  we  turned  away  with  a 


CRATER  LAKE 


S9 


shudder  and  refused  to  look  longer  upon  a  scene 
that  might  otherwise  have  entranced  us  with  its 
beauty. 

From  Crater  Lake,  we  pushed  on  with  our  tent, 
stove,  blankets  and  sufficient  provisions  to  last  us 
several  days  until  Lake  Lindeman  was  reached. 
Here  we  went  into  camp  for  the  third  time  after 
leaving  Dyea.  Then  we  turned  back  and  brought 
the  balance  of  our  outfit  forward  until  we  had  it  all 
cached  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Lindeman.  The 
trail  from  Crater  Lake  is  down  grade  all  tli.e  way 
and  at  this  time  the  sleighing  was  good,  though  the 
route  is  very  rocky  when  the  snow  is  oflf  the  ground. 
It  had  taken  us  about  three  weeks  to  move  from 
Dyea  and  we  were  glad  that  we  were  at  last  safely 
camped  along  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon. 

Such  were  the  conditions  and  surroundings  at 
Dyea,  on  the  trail,  and  at  Lake  Lindeman,  when  we 
crossed  the  pass  in  1896.  The  recent  news  of  our 
success,  and  that  of  many  other  fortunate  ones,  has 
created  such  a  stampede  that  the  pass  to-day  is  re- 
ported blocked  with  gold-seekers. 


CHAPTER  III. 


Dangers  and  Hardships  of  Chllkoot  Pass — Graphic 
Description  by  T.  B.  Corey,  Who  Crossed  it,  July, 
1897 — Exactions  of  the  Indian  Carriers — Buying 
an  Indian  Maiden  for  $50 — Boat  Building  on  the 
Lakes — The  Plainest  Pood  Tastes  Splendid. 

By  the  courtesy  of  Mrs.  T.  B.  Corey,  I  will  repro- 
duce a  letter  that  was  written  her  by  her  husband, 
in  the  summer  of  1897.  Mr.  Corey  is  well  known  in 
the  State  of  Washington  as  having  been  superin- 
tendent of  the  coal  mines  owned  and  operated  by 
the  Oregon  Improvement  Company,  and  I  believe 
his  letter  correctly  describes  the  situation  and  con- 
ditions existing  on  the  trail  to-day. 

"Head  of  Lake  Bennett,  July  31, 1897. 

"Here  I  am  at  Lake  Bennett.  We  were  landed 
at  Dyea  Sunday  evening  about  6  o'clock  on  a  scow, 
and  worked  till  1  o'clock  A.  M.,  Monday,  getting 
our  things  oflf  the  scow  and  putting  them  upon  the 
land  above  high  water  mark.  I  rolled  into  a  blank- 
et on  the  ground,  but  was  too  tired  to  sleep.  Got 
up  at  5  o'clock  and  got  our  things  up  a  mile  more 
and  re-arranged  them.  Tuesday  morning,  we  hired 
thirty-one  Indians  to  pack  our  stuflf  over  the  moun- 
tains to  Lake  Lindeman;  had  to  pay  them  17  cents 
per  pound.  Then  we  packed  our  own  packs  and 
started  over  the  trail.  Went  as  far  as  Sheep's  Camp, 
nine  miles,  and  arrived  at  3  P.  M.,  wet  through  to 

(80) 


T.  B.  COREY'S  EXPERIENCES 


81 


the  skin,  as  it  rained  all  day.  Sheep's  Camp  is  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Soon  dried  out  before  a 
camp-fire  and  at  once  went  to  bed.  We  were  on 
the  trail  at  5  o'clock  next  morning,  and  began  our 
ascent  at  once.  A  harder,  rougher  and  more  dif- 
ficult climb  I  never  saw.  It  was  raining  harder,  the 
trail  was  very  slippery  and  the  wind  was  blowing 
like  a  hurricane.  It  was  a  'holy  terror.'  But  we 
got  to  Lake  Lindemann  at  7  o'clock  that  night,  a 
tired,  sore  lot.  We  passed  over  about  a  mile  of 
snow,  but  that  was  preferable  to  the  slippery  rock. 
We  sent  to  Lake  Bennett  and  engaged  our  boat, 
paying  $100  for  it,  and  we  are  to  get  it  Monday  noon, 
August  2.  We  expect  to  get  started  down  the 
river  by  Wednesday,  sometime.  I  am  now  here 
hurrying  them  up. 

"Got  here  at  12  o'clock  last  night  and  was  up  at  5 
A.  M.  Tea  and  hardtack  constituted  our  breakfast. 
We  then  struck  out  for  the  saw  mill,  which  is  about 
one  mile  from  here,  and  while  I  am  waiting  for  a 
boat  to  take  me  back  to  Lake  Lindeman  I  am  writ- 
ing this  letter,  the  only  spare  time  since  I  left  the 
Al-Ki.  I  am  feeling  good,  only  sore  and  stiff,  which 
will  wear  oflf  in  a  few  days.  I  find  that  some  Seattle 
people  have  been  between  Dyea  and  Lake  Linde- 
man two  months  packing  their  stuff  over.  It  is  the 
hardest  work  I  ever  saw.  Some  of  the  Indians  carry 
as  much  as  150  pounds,  but  100  pounds  is  consid- 
ered a  good  pack.  Our  boys  carried  on  an  aver- 
age 50  pounds  each,  which  is  a  good  load  for  one 
not  used  to  it.    The  dogs  carry  35  to  40  pounds 


88  EXACTIONS  OF  INDIAN  CARRIERS 

each  and  seeni*  to  enjoy  it.  They  are  all  Indian 
dogs.  The  Indians  are  not  like  the  Siwashes  at 
Seattle,  but  all  of  them  are  good  stout  fellows.  The 
Indian  women  pack  too,  carrying  from  50  to  75 
pounds.  One  of  the  boys  was  making  a  bargain 
for  a  young  Indian  v/oman  for  his  wife  (just  for 
fun).  The  father  of  the  girl  agreed  to  take  $50  for 
her.  She  was  quite  pleased  over  the  idea  and  sat  up 
alongside  of  him  and  wanted  to  go.  So  we  had  the 
laugh  on  him.  She  is  quite  an  mtelligent  girl,  just 
out  of  the  Indian  Mission,  which  is  supported  by 
the  United  States  Government.  You  can  give  them 
all  the  education  they  want,  but  they  will  be  In- 
dians still.  Gilmore  and  Son,  of  Seattle,  are  still 
at  Lake  Lindeman.  They  have  bought  in  with  an- 
other party  who  had  their  boat  almost  completed. 
They  will  get  away  Monday  or  Tuesday.  The  In- 
dians have  raised  the  price  of  packing  to  ty/ertty 
cents  per  pound,  which  makes  it  quite  eyp^'^sive. 
Our  outfit  weighed  3,000  pounds.  We  were  the 
first  on  the  Al-Ki  to  engage  the  Indians,  so  you 
see  we  saved  $90  by  pushing  things.  I  can  tell 
you  right  now  that  I  would  not  pack  my  stuff  over 
that  trail  myself  for  all  the  gold  on  the  Yukon.  I 
ju  >t  could  not  do  it.  I  see  lots  of  men  laid  up  with 
sore  feet  and  lame  backs  who  will  be  of  no  account 
when  they  get  there.  Some  of  the  younger  boys 
will  see  a  little  of  hard  life  on  this  trip.  I  have  not 
changed  my  clothes  since  I  left  Seattle.  Everything 
goes,  in  your  food,  dirt  and  all.  Things  that  would 
turn  my  stomach  at  home  I  eat  with  a  relish.    I 


is'-; 


^^fomv^ 


^ 


INDIAN  WAYS  AND  MANNERS  88 

have  a  splendid  appetite.  Mr.  Raymond  is  one  of 
my  party.  He  packed  my  pack  the  first  day  about  a 
mile  over  the  hardest  part  of  the  trail.  I  carried 
about  30  pounds  the  first  day.  The  second  day  I 
carried  nothing  but  my  mackintosh,  which  was  all 
I  wanted. 

"There  is  bound  to  be  a  hard  time  or  the  Yukon 
this  winter.  Lots  of  them  will  be  stuck  for  the  win- 
ter at  Lake  Lindeman.  They  are  going  to  pack 
their  own  stuflf  and  that  means  the  river  will  be 
frozen  up.    Last  night  there  was  considerable  frost, 

"It  is  anmsing  to  see  the  funny  outfits  that  are 
brought  here.  Some  with  two-wheel  hand  carts, 
some  with  wheelbarrows,  etc.  Why,  some  of  them 
will  do  well  if  they  just  get  themselves  over  the 
trail.  I  am  writing  now  only  a  few  yards  from 
where  that  fellow  committed  suicide  last  year  when 
he  lost  his  boat  and  provisions.  I  find  not  a  few 
graves  along  the  trail,  of  Indians  and  whites. 

"I  found  a  Mr.  Mills  and  his  wife,  of  Seattle,  at 
Lake  Lindeman  and  he  will  get  started  Monday. 
He  packed  his  own  provisions  and  built  his  own 
boat.  I  find  Mrs.  Mills  quite  an  estimable  lady. 
She  has  her  husband's  trousers  on,  but  that  is  all 
right.  Everything  goes.  She  is  quite  a  brave  wo- 
man, and  they  desire  to  get  lots  of  gold.  Mills  used 
to  be  Col.  Green's  partner  in  Seattle.  I  never  saw 
such  a  good  lot  of  men.  There  are  no  loafers,  all 
good,  honest,  hard-working  men,  and  on  the  whole 
quite  accommodating.  They  don't  seem  to  be  jealous 
or  engaged  in  strife.    We  hear  nothing  here  at  all 


34 


BOAT  BUILDING  ON  THE  LAKES 


from  the  Yukon.  Nobody  comes  out  this  way. 
You  get  news  from  the  gold  fields  in  Seattle  before 
we  do;  so  we  had  just  as  well  be  out  of  the  world 
as  far  as  news  is  concerned.  People  who  come  in 
say  there  are  thousands  more  coming  in.  If  they 
do,  and  they  do  not  bring  money  and  "grub,"  they 
will  stay  at  Lake  Lindemai^  all  winter.  Lots  of 
people  are  securing  their  own  lumber  and  making 
their  own  boats,  but  timber  is  getting  very  scarce 
and  you  can  hardly  get  a  board  over  six  inches 
wide.  Lumber  at  the  sawmill  is  worth  $100  per 
thousand.  The  sawmill  has  hard  work  to  get  logs. 
Not  one  of  the  mill  hands  will  stay ;  all  have  gone  to 
the  Klondyke.  So  they  will  give  anyone  $5  per 
thousand  for  getting  logs  and  rafting  them  down 
to  the  mill.  They  have  to  go  four  or  five  miles  for 
the  timber.  The  sawmill  is  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Bennett.  We  expect  to  reach  Dawson  about  the 
12th  or  14tb  of  August.  We  are  going  to  sail  night 
and  day,  one  shift  on  day  and  the  other  on  night. 
These  boys — three  of  them — understand  the  hand- 
ling of  the  boat  well.  The  boys  are  all  aware  that 
their  pluck  and  patience  will  be  tried.  Yet  our 
hardest  part  of  the  trip  is  now  over.  None  but 
hard-working  or  strong-muscled  men  should  try  to 
cross  the  mountain.  Tell  the  outfitters  to  put  all 
the  godds  in  waterproof  sacks.  Also  tell  them  they 
do  not  figure  enough  suppHes  to  the  man.  T  hear 
lots  of  complaints  in  regard  to  the  matter  and  a 
great  many  will  run  out  of  provisions  on  account 
of  this.    The  merchants  cannot  be   oo  careful  in  re- 


:es 

It  this  way. 
eattle  before 

lof  the  world 
ho  come  in 
in.     If  they 

"grub,"  they 

er.  Lots  of 
and  making 
very  scarce 

sr  six  inches 

rth  $100  per 

V  to  get  logs. 

have  gone  to 
nyone  $5  per 
^  them  down 

five  miles  for 
ihorc  of  Lake 
son  about  the 
g  to  sail  night 
:her  on  night, 
md  the  hand- 
all  aware  that 
ed.  Yet  our 
r.     None  but 

should  try  to 
ers  to  put  all 
tell  them  they 

man.  T  hear 
matter  and  a 
is  on  account 
»  careful  in  re- 


p>?»ip 


i,  I  ] 

I' 


SOME  SOUND  ADVICE 


35 


gard  to  the  Yukon  orders  the,  send  out.  The  men 
get  short  and  have  to  take  what  comes.  If  every- 
thing is  short,  whether  by  their  fault  or  not,  it 
causes  lots  of  trouble  and  hardship,  I  came  across 
a  party  (.f  three  men  who  had  been  packing  for 
sixty  rj,?",  ^hey  had  packed  over  4,600  pounds 
and  nov,  t;'ey  must  build  a  boat.  This  will  take 
them  two  weeks  longer.  With  all  their  work  they 
are  not  discouraged. 

"You  would  laugh  to  see  mc  tackle  the  fat  bacon 
and  beans.  They  taste  as  good  out  here  as  cake  and 
pie.  We  are  close  to  the  timber  line.  The  moun- 
tains are  bare  of  any  vegetable  growth,  all  rocks 
and  many  covered  with  snow.  Lots  of  what  I  have 
written  will  probabh  not  interest  you,  but  I  keep 
scratching  at  wha*  Lciues  into  my  mind  regardless 
of  the  connect!:  l  W'^)  try  and  write  once  more 
before  leaving  the  idl  e 

*T  must  tell  you  aboai  the  Indian  graves.  They 
cremate  their  dead  here  and  get  an  expensive  c'lcst 
about  the  size  of  a  tool  chest  to  put  the  ashes  in. 
Nearly  every  grave  has  a  United  States  flag  on  a 
pole  above  it.  Some  of  them  build  a  house  rbout 
6x6  ^  -<  lave  ,.'  .o3t  one  side  of  glass,  so  you  can 
,  see  in  them.  Thct:  yoi.'  will  find  in  the  chest  an 
old  hat,  a  lamp  and  other  things  belonging  to  the 


W-^! 


d.^ccased. 


T,  B.  Corey." 


CHAPTER  IV. 


n. 


"Kid,"  My  First  Eskimo  Dog — Aci.,  ke  Lindeman 

on  a  Sled  Fitted  With  a  Sail — Ovv  akes  Bennett 
and  Le  Barge — Sledding  it  on  Fift^-Mile  B-iver — 
Avoiding  the  Treacherous  White  Horse  Rapids — Its 
Many  Victims  —  ''Caching"  Our  Supplies — ^Nine 
Days  Building  Our  Own  Crafts. 

Lake  Lindeman  is  one  of  the  chain  of  lakes  that 
form  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon.  The  Canadian 
officials  speak  of  them  as  the  head  waters  of  the 
Lewis  river.  However  this  may  be,  we  had  reached 
the  head  of  fresh  water  navigation.  Had  we  ar- 
rived a  few  weeks  later  in  the  season  we  could  have 
drifted  a  distance  of  seven  hundred  miles  down  the 
lakes,  Lewis  river  and  the  Yukon,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  short  portages.  But  the  lakes  were 
still  covered  with  ice  and  sno\v,  as  they  do  not 
break  up  for  several  weeks  after  the  river  opens. 
The  current  in  the  river  seems  to  aid  in  breaking 
the  ice  and  carries  it  down  the  Yukon  into  the 
Behring  Sea.  On  the  lakes  it  must  melt  and  be 
transformed  into  water  by  the  heat  of  the  sun  as  it 
does  not  break  up  small  enough  to  pass  through  the 
outlets. 

We,  however,  did  not  have  to  double-trip,  as 
we  had  two  sleds  and  I  had  fortunately  picked  up 
a  stray  dog  that  was  lost  from  its  master.  I  never 
could  find  the  owner  of  this  animal,  so  kept  him  until 
he  was  killed  by'some  rascal  at  the  mines.    I  called 

(86) 


'KID,"  MY  FIRST  ESKIMO  DOG 


37 


him  "Kid"  and  would  not  have  taken  five  hundred 
dollars  for  him.  He  was  a  perfect  lead-dog  and  I 
became  so  much  attached  to  him  that  I  would  have 
brought  him  home  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  comfort  and  luxury  had  he  not  become  the 
victim  of  some  cruel  scoundrel.  I  use  very  strong 
teriiis  in  speaking  of  this  individual;  but  as  I  never 
had  a  beast  in  my  life  before  that  I  thought  so  much 
of,  I  am  perhaps  excusable.  To  return  to  our  trip. 
We  loaded  our  entire  outfit  on  these  two  sleds  and 
started  across  Lake  Lindeman.  We  did  not  have 
to  cache  our  supplies  again ;  by  simply  pitching  our 
tent  at  night  and  building  a  fire  in  our  stove,  we 
could  make  a  bed  of  boughs  and  rest  very  com- 
fortably. 

We  had  a  large  sail  with  us  which  we  used  to 
great  advantage.  When  the  wind  blew  from  a  fav- 
orable quarter,  we  could  fasten  one  sled  behind  the 
other  and  setting  the  sail  on  the  head  one  we  were 
off.  It  was  necessary  to  erect  an  improvised  mast 
on  which  to  stretch  the  canvas  but  this  we  did 
without  much  trouble  by  simply  binding  a  pole  to 
the  front  knee  of  the  sled.  So,  aided  by  a  favorable 
wind,  we  could  make  good  time,  in  fact  it  was  im- 
possible for  us  lo  keep  ahead  of  the  sleds.  In  order 
to  steer  them  we  cut  long  poles  and  taking  a  posi- 
tion on  the  back  part  of  the  sleds  used  them  as  a 
sort  of  rudder.  These  poles,  trailing  along  over  the 
ice  did  keep  the  sleds  in  the  proper  course,  though 
at  times  our  arms  became  weary  from  the  effort 
necessary  to  effect  this  result. 


mil 


V'i 


.jSi  > ' 


Solium    I 

lm3  j 


ifi-f. 


:  m'i 


i^ 


38 


ON  A  SLED  FITTED  WITH  A  SAIL 


Over  Lake  Bennett,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  we 
crossed  in  a  single  day.  On  Lake  Le  Barge  also 
the  breeze  aided  us  and  we  reached  the  head  of 
Thirty  Mile  River  about  the  first  of  June. 

Some,  however,  could  not  convey  their  outfits  in 
one  trip;  they  had  to  convey  their  suppHes  a  dis- 
tance of  about  twenty  miles,  to  cache  them  and  then 
return,  in  the  face  of  the  wind,  after  more.  They 
could  not  make  as  good  time  and  therefore  we  had 
distanced  most  of  them  before  we  embarked  on 
Fifty  Mile  River. 

Though  Fifty  Mile  River  was  covered  with  ice, 
the  White  Horse  Canyon  and  the  rapMs  of  the  same 
name  were  not  frozen  over,  and  it  gave  us  an 
ui-^jortunity  to  view  them  as  we  hauled  our  outfits 
along  shore.  This  is  a  box  canyon  about  three  hun- 
dred feet  long  and  half  ^"hat  distance  in  width.  The 
river  immediately  above  is  more  than  twice  as  wide 
and  the  water  rushes  down  as  through  a  chute.  It  is 
a  very  dangerous  place  and  a  great  many  have  lost 
their  lives  in  attempting  to  run  it.  Some,  however, 
do  succeed  in  doing  so  but  it  requires  a  steady 
head  and  strong  hand.  The  water  runs  so  swiftly 
that  one  is  no  sooner  in  than  he  is  out  and  should 
his  boat  strike  the  side,  in  passing  through,  it 
would  be  dashed  into  pieces  in  an  instant.  The 
water  in  entermg  the  canyon  rolls  from  both  sides 
and  forms  a  crest  m  the  centre  which  is  caused  by 
the  funnel-shaped  approach.  If  the  boat  is  rowed 
in  with  speed  enough  to  give  it  steerage-way  a  good 
steersman  can  keep  it  headed  on  this  crest  without 


";%-Ss\ 


THROUGH  THE  WHITE  HORSE  CANYON   39 

much  effort.  If,  however,  it  gets  to  swinging,  it 
js  likely  to  be  rolled  against  the  side  and  smashed 
into  atoms. 

The  water  dashing  over  the  boulders  in  the  White 
Horse  Rapids  throws  up  a  white  spray  which  re- 
sembles the  flying  manes  of  a  regiment  of  white 
horses  making  a  charge;  from  this  fact  it  surely 
takes  its  name.        '  * 

When  we  had  arrived  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Le 
Barge  we  cached  our  supplies,  located  our  tent  as 
comfortably  as  possible  and  immediately  set  about 
building  boats.  As  timber  is  quite  large  here  we 
were  enabled  to  make  fairly  respectable  crafts.  They 
each  measured  eighteen  feet  in  length  with  a  four 
foot  beam  and  were  two  feet  deep.  It  took  us  nine 
days  to  build  them.  We,  however,  did  not  hurry 
as  we  had  to  wait  for  the  clearing  of  the  ice  which 
had  not  yet  started  out  of  Fifty  Mile  River.  The 
first  thing  necessary  in  building  a  boat  is  to  secure 
suitable  timber.  It  should  be  large  enough  to  square 
twelve  inches  at  the  small  end  of  the  log;  if  this 
cannot  be  obtained,  such  as  will  square  six  inches 
at  the  small  end  will  answer,  though  a  greater 
amount  of  caulking  is  required  to  make  it  water 
tight.  After  cutting  the  timber,  we  erected  a  saw- 
pit  and  rolled  our  logs  upon  it.  This  is  done  by 
building  a  platform  at  a  sufficient  height  from  the 
ground  to  enable  a  man  to  stand  erect  while  work- 
ing at  the  lower  end  of  the  whip-saw.  The  next 
move  is  to  square  the  timber  by  sawing  a  slab  from 
each  side,  then  the  log  is  laid  out  into  boards  one 


I 


4  , 


wl 


'  '  5      'Site  h 


o\ 


it   .1   ' 
''it 


h  1  ,3  4  si  iF'   '^ 


46 


BUILDING  OUR  BOATS 


inch  thick,  •one-fourth  of  an  inch  being  allowed  for 
the  running  of  the  saw.  This  process  is  slow  even 
when  the  saw  is  sharp  and  the  men  experienced. 
After  sawing  sufficient  lumber  to  make  two  boats 
we  commenced  putting  them  together.  We  used 
great  care  in  constructing  them,  as  at  times  the 
safety  of  our  supplies  and  our  Hves  even,  would 
depend  on  the  endurance  of  our  little  crafts.  We 
nailed  them  together  carefully  and  caulked  the 
seams  with  oakum;  then  gave  them  a  thorough 
saturation  of  boiling  pitch.  The  edges  of  the 
boards  should  always  have  a  bevel  which  should 
be  placed  with  the  bevel  side  out  so  that  the  pres- 
sure of  the  water  on  the  outside  of  the  boat  will  aid 
in  holding  the  oakum  in  place,  and  the  greater  the 
pressure  the  more  securely  will  this  preparation  ad- 
here to  the  seams.  We  built  our  boats  sharp  at 
both  ends,  fiat  bottomed  and  with  a  level  keel;  this 
model  is  considered  best  in  those  northern  waters; 
the  draught  being  light,  they  will  float  in  shallow 
water  and  will  pass  safely  over  the  rocks  unless  the 
latter  are  almost  exposed.  If  the  keel  is  level,  they 
will  hold  a  straight  course  when  poUng  up  stream, 
which  a  boat  with  a  crescent-shaped  keel  will  not 
do,  as  they  keep  swinging  from  side  to  side.  If 
sharp  at  both  ends  two  men  can  stand  near  the 
stern  and  pole  on  either  side,  and  the  stern,  in  this 
way,  acts  as  a  stationary  rudder. 

Later  in  the  season,  in  traversing  this  route,  from 
the  head  of  Lake  Lindeman  to  the  foot  of  Lake  Le 
Barge,  it  could  be  made  by  water  most  of  the  way. 


"RAFTING  IT" 


41 


At  the  head  of  Lake  Lindeman  a  raft  is  built  from 
such  timber  as  may  be  found.  The  trees  here  do 
not  grow  large  enough  to  make  lumber  for  the  pur- 
pose of  boat  building,  therefore  the  voyage  must  be 
made  on  a  raft  until  suitable  timber  for  building  a 
more  comfortable  craft  can  be  obtained.  A  raft 
should  be  built  so  that  the  deck  or  surface  is  at 
least  a  foot  above  the  surface  of  the  water;  this  pre- 
caution will  insure  safety  to  the  supplies  when  the 
lake  is  rough.  This  raft  can  be  used  all  the  way 
down  the  river  but  ordinarily  a  boat  is  constructed 
in  a  creek,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Bennett,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  seven  miles  from  the  head  of  Lake 
Lindeman.  When  arriving  at  the  foot  of  Lake 
Lindeman,  a  portage  of  about  two  hundred  feet  in 
One  Mile  River  is  necessary  as  the  river  is  very 
crooked  and  rocky. 

At  the  head  of  Lake  Bennett  the  mountains  are 
high  and  abrupt  but  a  creek  enters  from  the  west 
where  a  saw  mill  is  now  located.  When  a  boat  is 
finished  and  all  is  placed  on  board,  the  course  lies 
down  the  lake,  keeping  well  to  the  right  hand  side 
until  Carriboo  Crossing,  twenty-four  miles  distant, 
is  reached.  From  here  to  the  foot  of  Lake  Tagish, 
a  distance  of  twenty-one  miles,  the  opposite  side 
should  be  followed. 

A  broad  river,  six  miles  long,  with  a  slow  current 
connects  Lake  Tagish  with  Mud  Lake,  or  as  it  is 
also  called  Lake  Marsh.  The  banks  of  this  river  are 
low  and  the  slopes  are  covered  with  a  thick  growth 
of  cotton  wood  and  spruce.    The  left  bank  of  Mud 


m 


H  ilM 


»ft, 


'j^'i; 


'4.IJ' 


'If   I  il 


!'}■ 


I 


n  1^ 


m^i 


if !  ..Ill 

*  '  •  ,t 

J,    -yiH 

urn 


42 


OVER  THE  CHAIN  OF  LAKES 


Lake  should  be  followed  up  to  the  river  connecting 
it  with  Lake  Le  Barge,  where  the  right  hand  bank 
should  be  pursued  until  the  head  of  the  canyon, 
twenty-five  miles  below,  is  reached.  Unless  one  is 
a  skilfull  navigator,  it  is  best  not  to  run  this  can- 
yon, as  it  is  very  dangerous,  to  say  the  least.  A  port- 
age can  be  made  which  will  insure  safety  to  lives  and 
outfits.  After  passing  the  canyon,  the  left  hand 
side  of  the  river  should  be  followed  for  a  distance 
of  two  miles  which  brings  one  to  the  head  of  the 
White  Horse  Rapids.  Approaching  the  Rapids,  the 
river  and  its  surroundings  are  so  commonplace  that 
one  is  almost  upon  them  before  becoming  aware 
of  their  nearness.  Great  caution  should  be  exer- 
cised and  a  sharp  lookout  kept  on  reaching  the 
place  where  the  landing  is  to  be  made.  These  rapids 
are  about  half  a  mile  in  length  and  are  caused  by 
innumerable,  immense  boulders  lying  in  the  river 
bed.  When  the  water  is  very  high  these  rapids 
may  be  run  in  safety  but  when  the  depth  is  only 
average,  one  is  obliged  to  make  a  portage  of  about 
two  hundred  feet  at  the  head  of  the  Rapids  and 
another  of  about  five  hundred  feet  near  the  foot,  but 
when  the  water  is  low  so  as  to  give  a  pathway  on  the 
bank,  the  boat  may  be  lined  down.  From  the  foot 
of  White  Horse  Rapids,  to  the  head  of  Lake  Le 
Barge  the  water  way  is  clear  and  the  distance  about 
thirty  miles. 

Lake  Le  Barge  is  between  four  and  five  miles 
wide  and  about  thirty  miles  in  length.  In  crossing 
it,  it  is  well  to  steer  for  an  island  located  near  the 


LAKE  LE  BARGE 


48 


center.  If  the  wind  is  very  high,  it  is  better  to 
cross  to  the  left  hand  side  and  keep  close  to  the 
shore.  In  Thirty  Mile  River  the  current  is  very 
swift  and  the  water  much  sprinkled  with  rocks. 
This  lasts  until  the  Hootalinqua  River  is  reached; 
from  there  on  the  sailing  is  smooth  for  a  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles. 


lU 


(4  in 


I 


1* 


i  '  .Mill 


'■»'  1 


,i 


m 


i\i] 


"-V.W'.f'il^i^iV' 


vnmW'  ■■■■■^f^^P^P[«BP«B^>| 


CHAPTER  V. 


Sailing  Down  Thirty  Mile  Blver— The  Perils  of  "Five 
Fingers" — The  Funny  Adventures  of  "Blizzard 
Bill"— Buins  of  Old  Fort  Selkirk— Here  the  Yukoa 
Assumes  Its  Name— J.  F.  Miller's  Experiences  on 
the  Same  Route,  June,  1897 — Graveyards  by  the 
White  Horse  Bapids. 

We  embarked  on  Thirty  Mile  River  the  first  of 
June  and  followed  the  ice  down  to  the  Yukon, 
passing  the  mouths  of  the  Big  and  Little  Salmon 
Rivers. 

Five  Fingers,  the  next  dangerous  spot,  is  so  called 
on  account  of  five  rocks  that  project  out  of  the  water 
and  resemble  the  fingers  of  a  person's  hand.  We 
had  ample  warning  of  our  approaching  this  place  by 
the  increased  speed  of  the  current  and  the  rugged 
appearance  of  the  shores ;  so  we  kept  our  boats  well 
to  the  right  and  thus  were  enabled  to  steer  into  the 
right  hand  passage  when  we  rounded  a  turn  so 
sharp  as  to  almost  form  a  right  angle.  A  landing 
may  be  made  about  one  hundred  feet  from  Five 
Fingers  in  order  to  lighten  the  boat,  which  may  be 
swamped  if  too  heavily  loaded.  However,  we  con- 
sidered ours  light  enough  and  did  not  make  this 
landing. 

The  water  here  is  very  swift  and  like  that  of  the 
canyonhas  a  rolling  motion  from  both  sides  and  from 
the  right  hand  Finger,  or  rock.  If  the  boat  is  kept  well 
on  this  crest,  all  will  be  well,  but  if  allowed  to  strike 

(44) 


^^ 

o 

O 

w 

H 

a 

o 

t/i 

c1 

o 
n 

a 

o 

o 


- '".  \ 


THE  "FIVE  FINGERS" 


45 


either  side,  it  is  doubtful  if  a  piece  large  enough  to 
be  identified  would  ever  be  found. 

Just  before  entering  the  Fingers,  a  little  to  the 
left,  is  a  whirlpool  which  it  is  well  to  avoid.  Here 
we  underwent  a  strange  exptrienr  e,  at  times  ludic- 
rous, but  which  had  also  its  serious  side,  as  it  kept 
us  quite  anxious  for  several  hours. 

Accompanying  us,  in  ?  boat  of  his  own,  was  a 
man  from  Seattle,  whom  the  boys  on  the  trail  had 
dubbed  ''BHzzard  Bill."  He  was  a  long,  gaunt  in- 
dividual, and  would  I  ive  been  about  nine  feet  tall 


if  there  had  not  been  sqmuch  of  hini_turn£djlp 
fonloundation ;  one  of  those  fellows,  you  know,  who 
can  always  do  a  little  more  than  any  one  else.  Ac- 
cording, to  him,  a  giant  could  not  have  performed 
the  feats  c'  strength  that  he  had  accomplisheo 
with  ease.  He  had  beer  through  more  adventures 
than  any  other  man,  living  or  dead  he  was  afraid 
of  nothing  short  of  the  "Old  Boy*'  and  from  his  gen- 
eral conversation  one  v/ould  gather  that  'he  wouldn't 
give  even  him  more'n  naif  the  road.'  In  short,  he 
was  such  an  earnest,  persistent  and  voluminous 
blow-hard  that  he  had  become  known,  all  thtough 
that  country,  by  the  above  nick-name.  Like  all  of 
his  kind,  he  was  too  wise  to  follow  the  lead  of  his 
fellow  men  and  was  therefore  alv/ays  getting  intc 
some  diffictilty. 

In  this  particular  instance,  notwithstanding  our 
caution,  he  was  caughc  in  'his  whirlpool  and  half 
a  day  elapsed  ere  he  succeeded  i*i  getting  out.  The 
last  W2  saw  of  him,  before  we  passed  through  the 


r!       ''ii 

\     '1 


:v* 


"BLIZZARD  BILL'S"  ADVENTURES 

Fingers,  he  was  drifting  up  stream  at  a  rapid  rate. 
When  we  got  through,  we  went  ashore  and  waited 
for  him  but  he  did  not  come.  At  first  the  thought 
of  "BHzzard  Bill"  floating  around  in  this  v/hirlpool 
brought  smiles  to  our  faces;  we  could  imagine  him 
sitting  in  his  boat  with  his  legs  stretched  out  in 
front,  pulling  'v^ith  all  his  might  but  being  carried 
up  stream  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  and  then  back  in 
spite  of  all  that  he  could  do.  Round  and  round 
he  went  like  a  merry-go-round,  the  merry  being 
absent,  however.  Every  time  he  would  come  down, 
he  would  seem  to  be  heading  for  the  rocks;  so  with 
hair  on  end,  whiskers  flying  and  eyes  glassy  with 
fright  he  would  struggle  at  the  oars  but  to  no  effect. 
The  waters  played  with  this  wonderful  man  as  with 
a  toy  and  when  they  got  tired  of  their  sport,  and 
released  him,  he  came  drifting  through  broadside 
on,  threatened  every  instant  with  being  dashed 
against  the  rock.  What  a  sight  he  was,  pale  as 
death  and  so  weak  from  fright  and  exhaustion  that 
he  could  hardly  make  a  landing  in  the  placid  waters 
below.  As  soon  as  we  had  assured  ourselves  that 
he  would  not  die  of  fright  we  felt  very  much  re- 
lieved indeed.  After  this,  he  never  blowed  of  his 
prowess  and  skill  as  a  river  man,  in  our  presence, 
and  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  if  ever  "Blizzard  Bill" 
traverses  this  route  again  he  will  hug  the  right  hand 
bank  when  about  to  pass  through  Five  Fingers. 
,  We  got  aboard  again  and  had  been  drifting  close 
to  the  shore  for  a  distance  of  about  three  miles,  when 
we  heard  the  roar  of  Rink  Rapids.    These  Rapids 


TSisms 


THE  ROAR  OF  THE  RINK  RAPIDS 

are  formed  by  a  line  of  rocks  which  almost  crosses 
the  river  at  this  point ;  for  one  and  one-quarter  miles 
the  water  goes  down  boiling  and  seething,  making 
a  noise  which  re-echoes  through  the  hills  like  a 
thunder-bolt.  By  keeping  close  to  the  right  hand 
shore,  however,  we  floated  through  without  acci- 
dent. 

Between  fifty  and  sixty  miles  farther  down,  run 
over  a  smooth  water  course,  stand  the  ruins  of  Old 
Fort  Selkirk.  This  fort  was  burned  by  marauding 
Indians  in  1853,  and  has  never  been  re-built.  The 
chimneys  of  stone  are  still  standing  as  a  sentinel  in 
the  wilderness  to  mark  the  lapse  of  time.  Here  we 
got  the  first  view  of  civilization  since  we  turned  our 
backs  on  Dyea.  We  had  "bucked"  the  ice  all  the 
way  down  the  river.  That  is,  we  had  followed  it 
closely.  Sometimes  it  would  jam  and  the  water 
would  back  up  and  overflow  the  banks.  At  one 
time  we  had  to  row  back  more  than  half  a  mile  to 
find  room  to  pitch  our  tent.  Such  blockades  end 
by  the  water  backing  up  until  the  volume  is  ro-great 
that  the  ice  gives  way ;  then  with  a  roar  the  current 
rushes  on  until  another  jam  is  formed,  which  hap- 
pens at  intervals  all  the  way  down  the  river.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  be  too  close  when  one  of 
these  blockades  break  up,  or  the  boat  will  be  sucked 
in  among  the  cakes  of  ice  and  stove  to  pieces. 

At  Fort  Selkirk,  Mr.  Harper,  who  for  many  years 
has  been  an  outside  landmark  in  Alaska  and  the 
Yukon  district,  runs  a  trading  post,  where  supplies 
may  be  purchased.    This  place  is  so  important  in 


i 


18 


OLD  FORT  SELKIRK 


this  section  that  some  of  the  river  boats  lie  in  winter 
quarters  here.  At  this  point  the  Pell}^  and  Lewis 
Rivers  run  together  and  from  here  to  the  Behring 
Sea  the  River  is  called  Yukon.  As  we  were  first  on 
the  trail  in  the  spring,  we  saw  but  little  of  other 
parties  going  over  the  same  route.  We  had  lost 
half  of  our  supplies  by  being  shipwrecked  on  the 
Pacific.  This  lightened  our  outfit  to  such  an  extent 
that  we  kept  well  ahead,  so  we  saw  but  little  of  the 
disasters  of  others. 

And  yet  the  route  that  we  had  traversed  from 
Dyea  to  the  Hootalinqua  River  is  dotted  w  ui 
graves.  Indians  and  white  men  alike  have  suc- 
cumbed to  the  relentless  elements  and  have  been 
laid  away  in  the  mountain  sides.  A  party  of  four 
men  who  followed  us  were,  as  we  learned  afterwards, 
drowned  in  the  waters  of  the  canyon,  and  their  bod- 
ies discovered  by  strangers  and  buried  in  the  bank 
below.  One  man  was  seen  to  dash  against  a  rock,  at 
Five  Fingers,  and  nothing  but  his  roll  of  blankets 
was  ever  found.  Such  was  the  fate  of  others  and  we 
were  happy  indeed  to  be  among  the  fortunate  ones. 
We,  however,  had  used  caution,  and  our  experience 
before  we  reached  Dyea  had  taught  us  a  lesson  of 
patience  that  was  of  advantage  to  us.  Such  were 
the  conditions  surrounding  this  trail  when  we  trav- 
ersed it  in  the  spring  of  '96. 

As  the  reader  would  perhaps  be  interested  in 
the  experience  of  another  prospector  who  passed 
over  the  same  route  a  year  later  I  will  quote  from  a 
letter  written  by  John  F.  Miller,  who  was  a  prom- 


i 


THE  TALE  OF  JOHN  F.  MILLER 


49 


inent  man  in  Washington  State  affairs  before  he  left 
for  the  gold  fields. 

The  letter  was  addressed  to  his  wife,  to  whom  the 
public  is  indebted  for  the  pleasure  of  perusing  it. 

Dawson  City,  June  17,  1897. 

"Well,  we  arrived  at  the  end  of  our  long  journey, 
Saturday,  12,  at  two  o'clock,  We  arrived  safe  and 
sound,  without  having  a  pound  of  goods  wet  or  hav- 
ing been  wet  ourselves,  without  an  accident  or  un- 
usual experience  of  any  kind. 

"The  boat  was  a  perfect  little  hero,  and  if  I  was 
to  come  again,  I  would,  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, make  my  own  boat,  just  as  was  done  this 
trip.  It  was  light,  strong,  comparatively  easy  to 
handle  and  almost  perfectly  dry.  It  is  indeed  a 
very  pleasant  adventure  for  us  to  do  so  much  better, 
to  make  quicker  time  and  to  have  so  much  greater 
luck  with  our  outfit  than  has  been  the  case  with  old, 
experienced  Yukoners.  The  only  places  on  the  trip 
that  are  worthy  of  being  called  "hair-raising"  are 
the  Summit,  Windy  Arm,  Lake  Le  Barge,  the  Can- 
yon, White  Horse,  Five  Fingers  and  Rink  Rapids. 
Of  all  these  the  White  Horse  is,  of  course,  the  most 
formidabh,',  next  the  Five  Fingers,  next  the  Can- 
yon, etc.  At  the  Canyon  we  took  out  about  one 
thousand  pounds,  carried  it  over  the  hills  and  then 
went  through  wlih  the  boat.  It  is  a  bad  place,  to 
be  sure,  but  not  dangerous  if  one  only  exercises 
common  sense.  The  White  Horse  was  impassible. 
We  took  out  our  goods,  lined  the  boat  down  as  far 
as  possible,  then  made  a  portage  and  carried  it  in 


«;. 


50 


THE  TALE  OF  JOHN  F.  MILLER 


below  the  Rapids,  so  that  no  danger  or  possible 
loss  could  occur.  What  is  known  as  Thirty  Mile 
.  River,  between  Lake  Le  Barge  and  the  mouth  of 
the  Hootalinqua  River,  is  the  worst  water  on  the 
trip;  not  dangerous  to  life,  but  to  goods;  so  many 
boats  are  wrecked  on  the  rocks.  We  were  fortunate 
enough  to  escape  without  hitting  a  rock  or  getting 
fast  on  a  sandbar. 

"But,  at  best,  it  is  a  long,  long  trip.  We  left  Lake 
Bennett  the  31st  of  May  at  2  o'clock  P.  M.  We 
were  delayed  nearly  two  days  at  Windy  Arm  and 
one  day  at  the  Canyon  and  Rapids.  They  are  three 
miles  apart  and  a  troubled  water  they  are.  It  is  the 
trip  of  a  life  time,  and  with  a  variety  of  experi- 
ences, from  sliding  over  sixty  feet  of  snow  to  breath- 
ing incense  among  the  songbirds  and  flowers — to  say 
nothing  of  the  boiling  hot  sun.  My  birthday  was 
passed  on  Thirty  Mile  River — that  dangerous  water 
I  spoke  of — and  the  only  feature  we  had  worthy  of 
calHng  a  celebration  was  that  we  had  some  fresh 
moose  meat,  the  first  fresh  meat  we  ate  since  we 
struck  the  trail.  O,  my,  we  had  a  fine  meal!  After 
we  left  the  Hootalinqua,  we  sailed  day  and  night. 
The  nights  are  as  light  as  day  here.  One  would 
not  know  the  difiference,  save  that  the  sun  is  not 
shining  for  about  two  hours.  We  are  both  feeling 
well;  not  quite  tired  out  with  the  long  run. 

"The  Yukon  is  a  broad,  majestic  river,  and  dis- 
plays some  of  the  grandest  views  I  ever  beheld.  It 
has  a  terribly  swift  current,  but  the  water  is  as 
muddy  as  that  of  the  Missouri.    All  day  long  and  all 


^•^I"-' 


«nPVi>a«i 


iPH 


IMHH 


m 


A  BIRTHDAY  IN  THE  YUKON  DISTRICT     51 


night  too,  one  could  hear  the  song  birds  singing 
their  pleasing  little  notes  and  apparently  mocking 
the  trials  of  mankind — at  least  it  seemed  a  mockery 
to  me.  We  saw  no  game  except  goose  and  duck. 
If  we  had  only  brought  a  shot  gun  we  could  have 
had  game  almost  the  entire  way.  We  bought  moose 
and  carriboo  meat  from  the  Indians,  trading  some 
raisins  for  it.  Just  think  of  the  distance  we  have 
come  in  that  little  boat.  O,  yes;  I  said  the  Five 
Fingers  was  a  piece  of  water  to  be  dreaded.  Well, 
it  is  worse  than  the  Canyon,  and  the  bad  feature  is 
that  it  is  in  a  place  where  it  is  impossible  to  take 
out  any  goods.  There  were  some  boats  there  when 
we  came  along.  They  had  inspected  it  and  told  us 
the  rocks  to  avoid.  We  followed  the  course  and  the 
little  boat  came  through  like  a  swan.  The  river 
below  the  Hootalinqua,  for  perhaps  two  hundred 
miles,  is  a  well  defined  channel  without  islands  or 
§and  bars;  then  all  sorts  of  obstructions  bob  up 
except  rocks ;  then  more  islands,  bars  and  cross  cur- 
rents until  Sixty  Mile;  a  comparatively  good  chan- 
nel the  remainder  of  the  way.  Some  parties  met 
with  losses,  most  of  them  in  Thirty  Mile  River.  A 
Mr.  Petv^rs,  with  several  tons  of  merchandise,  such 
as  clocks,  knives,  silver  ware,  dress  goods,  grocer- 
ies, blankets — in  fact  a  general  merchandising  out- 
fit, was  wrecked  in  the  canyon.  He  managed  to  ^et 
his  boat  through,  but  all  his  goods  were  wet  and 
greatly  damaged.  While  lying  above  the  White 
Horse,  I  helped  to  secure  an  outfit  which  came 
floating  down.    A  couple  of  fellows  were  wrecked 


It 


•(■?* 


m 


62         DANGERS  OF  THIRTY  MILE  RIVER 

and  lost  most  of  their  possessions  and  wearing  ap- 
parel, boat,  etc.  But  in  all  these  cases  of  loss,  the 
disaster  can  be  traced  to  awkwardness  or  neglect. 
As  I  said  before  we  had  no  trouble  in  the  least. 
There  was  no  need  whatever  of  our  carrying  our 
goods  around  the  Canyon,  but  we  took  no  chances ; 
we  did  it  as  a  precautionary  measure. 

"The  little  boat  is  now  tied  up  here  at  our  jour- 
ney's end.  It  seems  a  shame  to  destroy  her  §ince 
she  has  been  such  a  faithful  little  craft.  Still,  her 
days  of  usefulness  are  passed,  and  she,  like  all  the 
world,  must  again  return  to  Mother  Earth  and 
mingle  with  the  rocks.  I  thank  God  she  has 
brought  us  safely,  for  she  has  been  tried,  at  times 
severely.  A  thousand  miles  is  no  child's  wandering 
for  even  so  staunch  a  boat.  All  sorts  of  gloomy 
possibilities  were  pictured  to  us  by  those  who  had 
been  over  the  river  before,  but  we  paid  no  attention 
to  them,  and  came  along,  arriving  a  week  ahead  of 
many  of  those  who  criticised  the  craft.  The  weather 
has  been  very  warm  during  the  day,  but  at  night  it 
is  very  cold.  There  is  no  heat  whatever  in  the  earth, 
so  as  soon  as  the  sun  goes  down  the  frost  in  the 
ground  fills  the  air  with  moisture  and  cold.  My 
whiskers  stand  me  in. good  stead  against  the  mos- 
quitoes. I  had  my  hair  cut  at  Windy  Arm  by  a 
"barber"  who  said  he  had  never  cut  a  man's  hair, 
but  had  clipped  a  horse  about  eight  years  ago.  You 
can  imagine  the  cut! 

"For  the  last  day  and  night,  we  floated  down  the 
river  in  company  with  a  couple  of  Juneau  acquaint- 


INDIAN  GRAVES 


63 


.nces  of  Harry's,  We  just  \  shed  the  boats  together 
and  floated.  The  rest  of  the  way  we  were  alone,  not 
a  boat  in  sight  in  many  days.  Some  families  came 
in,  some  with  small  children.  There  was  a  sad  sight 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Lindeman,  where  a  poor  baby 
was  laid  to  rest  upon  a  little  hill  just  before  enter- 
ing the  Canyon.  Another  sad  incident  took  place 
at  the  foot  of  Lake  Marsh,  where  a  man  was  acci- 
dentally shot  and  killed.  He,  too,  was  placed  to  rest 
upon  the  bank  of  the  river.  The  only  graveyard  or 
graves  to  be  seen  are  at  the  foot  of  the  White  Horse. 
Indian  graves  are  very  frequent,  and  some  of  them 
are  located  in  commanding  and  romantic  places. 
Among  all  the  people  who  have  come  in  this  season, 
I  have  not  heard  of  a  drowning  or  any  very  narrow 
escape.  The  water  was  very  low  at  the  White 
Horse,  but  high  farther  down. 

*T  have  now  written  quite  at  length  regarding  the 
trip  and  its  features,  and,  by  the  way,  I  must  say 
that  no  one  has  any  right,  or  ought,  to  undertake 
it  unless  he  is  ready  and  willing  to  put  up  with  any- 
thing at  all  times  and  to  undergo  any  and  all  kinds 
of  hardships,  privations  and  exposure." 


M 


J/l    ■-' 


■nj 


CHAPTER  VI. 


On  the  Yukon  at  Last — ^The  Breaking*up  of  the  Tje 
Jam — Entering  the  Stewart,  or  "Grub  Stake"  River 
Poling  vs.  Bowing — The  Ferocious  Mahoney  In- 
dians— Dutch  John's  Bar — Jerking  Moose  Flesh — 
Digging  Gold  at  Sperry  Bank — Prospecting  the  Mc- 
Question  Biver — ^Looking  After  Supplies  and  Win- 
ter Quarters. 

We  arrived  in  the  evening  and  pitched  our  tent 
for  the  first  time  on  the  banks  of  the  Yukon.  The 
trail  that  we  had  traversed  was  indeed  rough  and 
the  hardships  endured  by  us  must  be  experienced 
in  order  to  be  thoroughly  understood. 

As  we  were  the  first  to  arrive  from  the  outside 
world  we  were  besieged  for  news  on  every  hand. 
We  had  no  newspapers  with  us,  so  related  the  more 
important  happenings  of  the  past  year,  which  were 
listened  to  with  a  relish  and  which  were  again  "told 
by  one  to  another,  being  handed  around  like  the 
traditions  of  old. 

The  ice  was  still  jammed  in  the  river  and  we 
were  delayed  until  the  blockade  broke.  This  oc- 
curred in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  when  we 
took  to  our  boat  and  proceeded  down  the  stream. 
The  country  here  is  well  timbered  and  many  islands 
dot  the  river,  which  is  smooth  and  very  wide  for 
about  90  miles. 

At  last  we  were  on  the  Yukon  and  in  the  country 
of  gold.    Just  where  to  locate  and  begin  work  wag 

(M) 


^ 


..LU  II.IIHI 


n 

53 
n 
r 
w 

n 


o 


w 


o 


J?- 


^ii 


W'W' 


..•■iii.jijt.»j^j]ijnii.i^v;' 


ON  THE  YUKON  AT  LASTI 


66 


^i 


a  problem.  After  turning  the  matter  over  in  our 
minds,  we  decided  that  perhaps  we  might  as  well 
work  our  way  up  the  Stewart  River.  We  continued 
on,  down  the  "^ukon,  meeting  with  no  incidents  or 
accidents  of  importance  and  the  scenery  varying 
but  little,  until  we  reached  the  White  River.  It 
flows  in  from  the  west  and  is  a  broad,  rapid  stream. 
The  current  runs  about  sixteen  miles  per  hour  and 
the  waters  are  muddy  white  in  color.  Its  name 
is  perhaps  derived  from  this  fact.  This  river,  has 
been  but  littl^  r>t  >spected  on  account  of  the  rapid 
current  which  makes  it  almost  impossible  to  get 
supplies  up  the  stream.  It  is  supposed  to  rise  near 
the  base  of  an  active  volcano,  though  the  only 
authority  for  this  supposition  is  the  traditions  of  the 
natives.  Here  the  Yukon  broadens  to  a  mile-  in 
width  but  the  valley  maintains  its  general  appear- 
ance for  some  miles  further,  though  the  islands 
become  more  numerous  and  in  some  instances  lar- 
ger. Ten  miles  farther  down  the  Yukon,  the  Stew- 
art River  joins  it  from  the  east.  As  we  had  elected 
to  try  our  fortune  in  this  valley  we  swung  our  boat 
into  this  deep,  dark  stream  and  bade  good-bye  to 
the  Yukon.  The  banks  of  this  river  are  very  rug- 
ged, rising  in  many  places  in  a  perpendicular  bluff 
for  hundreds  of  feet.  At  this  time  the  water  was 
high  and  we  had  great  difficulty  in  poling  our  boat 
up  the  stream.  At  intervals,  we  had  to  go  into 
camp  for  several  days,  waiting  for  the  water  to  fall. 
The  currents  in  all  of  these  rivers  are  so  strong  that 
it  is  impossible  to  row  a  boat  against  them;  there- 


mi 


M- 


fore  \'he  traveler  must  resort  to  p-Dling.  Two  good 
men  \\'ho  are  used  to  this  kind  of  work  can  pole  a 
boat  about  fifteen  miles  a  day.  For  poling,  a  boat 
should  be  flat-bottomed  and  level  on  the  keel. 

The  Stewart  River  is  supposed  to  be  about  five 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length,  though  white  men 
have  never  reached  its  source.  A  man  by  the  name 
of  Johnson  and  Bis  son  have  followed  it  up  to  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth  but  were 
run  out  by  the  Indians  before  they  could  note  many 
of  thf;  land  marks.  It  took  them  all  their  time  to 
sa^/e  tlieir  rcalps  from  the  ferocious  Mahoneys,  a 
tribe  of  northern  Indians  that  inhabit  the  upper 
Stewart.  At  the  Falls,  al-out:  one  hundred  and 
seven. y-five  miles  .iiom  the  river's  mout',.,  is  the 
SQ-calhi'd  ''dead  line/  and  even  the  ?+ewart  River 
Indians  never  cross  thi".  The  Mahoneys  are  at  war 
wit'a  everv  other  tribe,  and  with  the  world  in  gen- 
eral; and  no  one  who  has  had  the  hardihood  to 
trespass  on  their  domains  has  ever  returned  to  tell 
the  tale. 

This  tribe  lives  almost  entirely  by  h^inting  and 
fishing.  Occasionall^y ,  hov/ever,  they  will  doage  out 
to  the  "Harper  House"  at  Fort  Selkirk  and  trade 
furs  for  ammunition,  tea  and  tobacco.  At  one  time, 
Mr.  Harper  traded  them  one  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  these  articles  for  furs.  Usrially  a  small  detach- 
ment, consisting  of  about  half  a  dozen  suddenly 
appear  at  the  trading  post  and  as  soon  as  their  trad- 
ing is  completed  as  Zucdenly  disappear.  Between 
them  and  the  Stewart  River  Indians  in  part'citlii, 


''' 


wm^fm^mfiimm 


^wpi^B»""Ppi 


mmi'i^'mmmimm 


^mmr^fmmnmr^ 


li-  .*m 


I 


THF  FEROCIOUS  MAHONEY  INDIANS      57 


tHere  exists  a  bitter  feud  and  they  will  kill  each 
other  on  sight.  They  are  armed  with  the  old  rifles 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  pattern  which  they 
obtained  years  ago  from  a  post  of  that  company 
then  established  on  the  Mackenzie  River,  a  branch 
of  which  also  flows  through  their  country.  The 
price  of  one  of  these  rifles,  when  bought  by  the 
Mahoney  tribe,  was  a  stack  of  furs  which  when  piled 
on  the  floor  beside  the  rifle  would  reach  to  the 
muzzle.  For  some  reason  they  have  never  yet  ob- 
tained the  modern  pattern  of  breech  loaders  and  re- 
peaters. These  Indians,  thus  far,  have  rejected  all 
civilizing  influences  and  as  they  occupy  one  of  na- 
ture's staunchest  strongholds,  located  in  a  wilder- 
nesii  of  frost  and  barricaded  with  ice  and  snow,  they 
will  probably  defy  the  intrusion  of  the  white  man 
for  years  to  come,  unless  subdued  by  the  arts  of 
some  venturesome  missionary. 

The  Mahoney  Mount  ins  form  the  watershed  be- 
tween the  Stewart  and  Mackenzie  Rivers.  The 
north  side  of  thes^  mour tains  is  drained  by  the 
last  named  nd  its  branches,  v/hich  find  their  outlet 
in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  while  the  waters  of  the  south 
side  flow  over  the  Stf  v/ar*^^  and  Pelly  River  beds  into 
the  Yukon, 

The  Stewart  River  is  also  called  "Grub  Stake 
River,"  for  it  is  here  that  the  mmer  returns  after 
a  season  of  unprofitable  prospecting.  There  is  gold 
on  all  its  bars,  and  a  prospector  never  fails  to  take 
out  a  grub  stake  in  a  short  time.  The  river  bottom 
IS  covered  wit"    grass  and,  unlike  the  soil  that  is 


.M 


'9n9iv 


'^.U 


;**^i 


♦^h 


■  1 

Mi 

i  it 

1  -i- 


#? 


protected  with  moss,  thaws  out  in  summer.  In  all 
our  prospecting  on  this  river  we  did  not  strike  frost 
but  found  that  the  gravel  fell  from  it. 

We  had  worked  our  way  up  the  Stewart,  for  a 
distance  of  twenty-five  miles,  when  we  were  ob- 
liged to  go  into  camp  on  account  of  the  water  being 
so  high  that  we  could  not  reach  bottom  with  our 
implements. 

We  called  this  "High  Water  Camp,"  and  while 
waiting  here  for  the  water  to  fall,  we  spent  the 
time  in  hunting  and  fishing.  We  killed  three  moose 
and  two  bears  and  caught  any  quantity  of  fish.  Thus 
we  were  provided  with  fresh  meat  which  was  very 
palatable  indeed  after  living  on  bacon  for  so  many 
weeks.  The  fish  were  of  the  variety  called  white 
fish  by  the  miners  on  account  of  the  color  of  their 
flesh  which  is  of  a  clear  white.  The  flesh  is  solid 
and  very  sweet.  They  are  a  fresh  water  fish  with 
scales  and  resemble  the  salmon  in  shape  ancl  size; 
they  are  as  sportive  as  bass  and  are  taken  with  a 
trolling  hook. 

At  the  end  of  three  weeks,  however,  the  water 
had  fallen  so  that  we  could  proceed  farther  up  the 
stream.  After  a  hard  push  of  about  five  miles  we 
reached  "Dutch  John's  Bar,"  so-called  because  it 
had  been  discovered  by  an  individual  who  in  that 
cf  antry  was  known  by  that  sobriquet.  We  staid 
here  for  a  few  days,  having  in  the  meantime  taken 
out  eleven  ounces  of  the  precious  metal  and  then 
pushed  on  for  a  richer  find.  One  mile  further  up 
we  landed  on  Lac  De  Bar,  but  as  the  prospects 


«  WORKING  A  RICH  BAR 

were  not  very  encouraging  we  did  not  tarry  long. 
Two  miles  further  we  went  into  camp  on  the  Half 
Moon  Bar,  so  named  on  account  of  its  crescent 
form.  Here  we  killed  two  more  moose,  the  flesh  of 
which  we  jerked  and  then  cached.  This  is  done  by 
cutting  the  flesh  into  strips  and  spreading  these  out 
on  a  sort  of  gridiron  platform  built  on  poles  high 
enough  to  be  secure  from  the  attacks  of  r^nimals  of 
prey.  The  heat  of  the  sun  soon  forms  a  crust  which 
protects  it  from  the  flies.  After  caching  our  jerked 
moose  we  struck  camp  and  three  miles  further  up 
found  a  slough  that  we  thought  inviting.  In  four 
days  we  had  taken  out  twenty-one  ounces,  or  about 
$22.00  per  day  to  the  man,  which  was  very  satis- 
factory. The  water,  however,  drove  us  out  of  here 
as  ic  kept  rising  all  the  time  and  finally  raised  us 
entirely  out  of  the  pay  dirt.  Porcupine  Bar,  three 
miles  further  up,  was  our  next  stop ;  there  we  found 
two  men  named  respectively  Raymond  and  White. 
This  bar  was  discovered  about  fifteen  years  ago  and 
was  very  rich,  paying  from  seventy-five  to  one  hun- 
dred dollars  per  day  when  worked  with  a  rocker. 
The  Stewart  River  is  Raymond's  favorite  diggings, 
and  he  is  found  here  year  after  year.  He  had  been 
three  years  on  this  bar.  He  left  it  when  the  Klon- 
dyke  strike  was  made,  but  arrived  on  the  scene  too 
late  to  get  a  choice  claim,  so  returned  again  to 
the  Stewart.  The  pay  here  was  not  rich  enough  for 
us;  so  in  the  morning, we  moved  on,  and  after  poling 
for  14  miles  against  a  rapid  current,  we  reached 
Chapman  Bar.    This  we  prospected  but  found  that 


do    MEETING  PROSPECTORS  ALONG  RIVER 

the  pay  dirt,  though  quite  rich,  was  covered  with 
so  much  barren  sand  that  it  was  not  profitable  to 
strip  it.  We  passed  up  to  Joe  Jay  Bar,  a  distance  of 
about  twenty  miles.  Here  we  found  Stallers  and 
Peterson,  who  had  come  up  the  winter  before  on  the 
ice  hauling  their  provisions  on  sleds  and  had  com- 
menced work  as  soon  as  the  thaw  set  in.  They  had 
bought  the  bar  from  Joe  Jay  who  had  located  it. 
Like  many  transactions  of  this  nature  in  this  coun- 
try they  were  to  pay  for  it  when  they  had  taken  the 
money  out  of  the  ground.  They  were  getting  along 
nicely,  however,  and  would  probably  be  able  to 
settle  with  Joe  the  following  winter  and  have  a  snug 
sum  left.  We  dropped  back  about  two  miles  and 
a  half  to  Sperry  Bank.  Here  we  found  the  old  dig- 
gings quite  good.  Further  down  the  stream,  how- 
ever, I  noticed  a  bar  lying  low  in  the  water  and  de- 
cided to  prospect  it.  When  I  did  so  I  found  it 
paid  about  twenty  dollars  per  day.  This  was  con- 
sidered fair,  but  after  working  a  few  days,  we  con- 
cluded to  push  up  the  river  again  and  if  we  found 
nothing  better  we  could  return  and  work  it  out. 
We  named  this  Low  Water  Bar.  Forty  miles 
brought  us  to  the  McQuestion  River,  which  joins 
the  Stewart  from  the  west.  It  heads  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  mountains  in  which  the  wonderful 
Klondyke  finds  its  source.  We  continued  on,  how- 
ever, and  prospected  a  bar  about  two  miles  further 
up.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  we  went  three  niles 
further  to  a  place  called  "Black  Mike's  Bar''  be- 
cause of  the  color  of  the  man  who  located  it,  but 


■    '  '^■'.  "^^^H 


DIVIDING  OUR  FORCES 


d^ 


were  not  yet  satisfied  that  we  had  found  the  best 
in  the  country. 

I,  for  my  part,  was  contented  to  turn  back  and 
finish  the  season  on  the  bar  which  I  had  discovered 
near  Sperry  Bank.  The  boys,  however,  wanted  to 
find  something  richer.  Finally  we  decided  to  re- 
turn to  the  mouth  of  the  McQuestion  and  there 
separate.  We  concluded  that  it  would  be  better  for 
two  of  us  to  drop  back  to  Low  Water  Bar  and  put 
in  the  balance  of  the  season  working  it,  while  the 
others  continued  prospecting.  This  method  would 
insure  us  a  steady  income  of  about  forty  dollars  per 
day  which  would  keep  us  well  supplied  with  "grub" 
besides  giving  us  a  nice  margin  for  the  folks  at 
home.  At  the  mouth  of  the  McQuestion,  we  sepa- 
rated. Gage  Warden  and  myself  dropped  down  the 
Stewart  while  the  other  boys  went  up  the  Mc- 
Question. Bidding  the  boys  God  speed  we  shoved 
off  and  in  a  few  days  were  again  encamped  on  Low 
Water  Bar.  About  the  10th  of  September,  while  at 
work  here,  we  were  signaled  from  a  raft  that  was 
floating  by.  We  immediately  shoved  our  boat  in 
the  stream  and  rowed  towards  it  and  were  indeed 
pleased  to  learn  that  it  was  manned  by  our  partners. 
They  had  their  boat  aboard,  in  which  their  outfit 
was  snugly  stored.  An  improvised  canopy  of  the 
ever  useful  canvas  was  stretched  over  this,  which 
protected  them  from  the  sun  but  did  not  ward  off 
the  refreshing  breeze.  We  went  aboard  rind  drifted 
down  the  river  with  them.  They  had  prospected 
the  McQuestion  for  a  distance  of  100  miles  and 


•    ,f,.i.iis,. 


62 


THE  BOYS  COME  BACK 


though  they  brought  back  considerable  gold  they 
had  found  nothing  that  was  an  improvement  on  our 
present  location.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river,  how- 
ever, they  had  cut  about  two  hundred  logs,  which 
they  were  now  rafting  down  to  Sixty  Mile,  where 
they  hoped  to  exchange  them  for  provisions.  We 
concluded  that  it  would  be  best  for  them  to  continue 
with  the  raft,  while  we  work*^d  a  iiitie  longer,  and 
then  follow  and  meet  them  later  a^.  the  trading  post. 

After  drifting  with  them  for  about  two  miles  we 
embarked  in  our  boat  and  made  our  way  back  to 
our  camp  where  we  continued  at  work  until  Septem- 
ber 19th,  when  we  struck  camp  and  joined  them. 

Our  stock  of  provisions  was  exhausted.  Our 
larder  contained  nothing  but  jerked  moose  and  co- 
coa. We  had  been  out  of  flour  for  two  weeks  and 
as  we  had  no  condensed  milk  or  sugar  we  could  not 
use  the  cocoa.  We  traded  this  to  the  Indians  for 
moose  flesh  and  they  in  turn,  having  no  more  use 
for  it  than  we  had,  traded  it  to  some  miners  for 
tobacco. 

It  had  now  been  about  seven  months  since  we  left 
Seattle.  We  had  gone  through  a  great  deal  of  hard- 
ship but  had  found  a  little  gold;  in  fact  we  were 
satisfied  with  our  success  and  well  content  with  our 
journey  thus  far. 

It  was  our  intention  to  return  as  soon  as  we  could, 
as  the  cold  weather  might  set  in  at  any  time.  When 
we  returned  v/e  had  calculated  to  erect  a  cabin  and 
prepare  our  quarters  for  the  winter  season  that 
would  soon  be  upon  us.    We  could  also  arrange  to 


'I  "!m 


SUMMER  DRIFTING  DOWN  THE  YUKON    63 


strip  some  of  the  barren  sand  from  the  bar.  In  fact 
we  had  put  in  many  an  idle  moment  in  planning 
for  our  comfort  and  had  even  calculated  the  exact 
time  when  we  would  return  to  the  States  with  ample 
means  to  keep  us  in  comfort  the  balance  of  our 
days.  Not  in  luxury — we  did  not  aim  as  high  as 
that — for  our  little  bar  was  limited  and  we  did  not 
care  to  spend  our  lives  in  this  region. 

We  drifted  down  the  river  in  comfort,  laying 
aside  the  poles  that  had  been  our  mainstay  and 
props  in  our  journey  up.  When  we  reached  Por- 
cupine Bar,  we  tied  up  long  enough  to  load  the 
jerked  moose  we  had  cached  there  early  in  the 
season.  We  found  it  in  good  condition  and  it  had 
not  been  molested,  though  undoubtedly  seen  by 
others  passing  along  the  river.  It  is  the  custom,  in 
this  country,  to  leave  everything  that  belongs  to  you 
where  you  please,  even  in  the  most  exposed  places. 
It  is  seldom  that  you  will  find  on  your  return  that 
it  has  been  molested,  no  matter  how  valuable  it  may 
be.  The  miners  have  a  law,  though  an  unwritten 
one,  that  is  very  severe  toward  any  one  who  takes 
what  does  not  belong  to  him.  Woe  betide  him  who 
IS  caught  in  the  act  or  who  is  even  strongly  sus- 
pected of  being  light-fiiigered.  The  least  punish- 
ment that  such  can  expect  is  to  be  ordered  out  of 
the  country  with  instructions  not  to  return  on  pain 
of  death. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


.■m^^W 


The  First  News  of  the  Klondike  "Strike"— Old  Indian 
the  News-Bearer— 'Beaching  Sixty-Mile  Post — ^A 
Storm  on  the  Yukon— Two  Claims  Staked  by  My 
Partners  on  Bonanza  Creek— We  Locate  Two  More 
on  the  Hardly  Known  Eldorado  Creek— Plenty  of 
Gold,  but  no  Supplies — ^Down  the  Yukon  After 
Food— A  Terrible  Jam  of  Ice-Floes. 

When  we  had  picked  up  our  jerked  moose  we 
continued  on  down  the  river  without  incident  of 
any  kind  until  we  met  an  Indian  about  30  miles 
from  the  Yukon.  This  was  "Old  Chief  Joseph" 
who  had  been  down  to  Sixty  Mile  after  tea  and 
tobacco  for  his  people,  one  of  the  Stewart  River 
J:ribes.  As  he  was  on  his  way  up  stream  he  was 
"hugging  the  shore"  so  as  to  avoid  the  current. 
We  steered  towards  him,  and  after  the  habit  of  that 
country,  both  parties  made  fast  in  order  to  "swap" 
such  news  as  we  had  in  stock.  Here  we  first  heard 
of  the  great  "strike"  in  the  Klondyke  district.  We 
could  not  talk  his  language  but  he  could  make  him- 
self understood.  "White  man  find  heap  gold  on 
Klondyke,"  said  he,  and  he  related  in  his  best  Eng- 
lish, some  of  which  we  understood,  all  the  partic- 
ulars of  the  rich  strike  and  the  stampede  from  all 
parts  of  the  Yukon  that  followed.  We  lost  no  time 
in  starting  for  this  wonderful  country  where,  the 
bed  rock  i^  lined  with  gold.  Not  content  with  the 
now  too  slow  current,  we  got  out  our  oars  and 

(M) 


PS 
o 

I 


C/l  E 


••<MP<MM<«»<M#MM 


FIRST  NEWS  OF  THE  GREAT  STRIKE       65 


rowed.  The  days  were  getting  much  shorter  and 
in  consequence  the  weather  much  colder.  We, 
however,  were  well  protected,  having  with  us  the 
furs  taken  from  the  moose  and  bear  that  we  had 
been  fortunate  enough  to  kill. 

We  reached  Sixty  Mile  in  good  time  and  halted 
there  for  supplies.  Here  we  met  a  number  of  miners 
who  confirmed  the  Indian's  statement  as  to  the 
riches  of  the  Klondyke  district.  They  had  just 
come  up  after  locating  claims  on  Bonanza  Creek. 
We  bought  from  Mr.  Haley,  agent  for  the  North 
American  Transportation  Company,  at  Sixty  Mile 
Post,  a  sack  of  flour,  some  salt  and  some  tobacco. 
This  was  all  he  would  let  us  have,  as  provisions  were 
short  with  him,  but  he  told  us  we  could  get  all  we 
wanted  at  Dawson  City  as  he  expected  the  "Arctic" 
would  leave  at  least  forty  tons  there.  I  can't  de- 
scribe how  we  appreciated  this  little  stock.  We  had 
had  nothing  to  eat  but  jerked  moose  without  salt  or 
pepper  to  season  it  witTi,  for.  more  than  two  weeks. 
We  had  some  baking  powder  and  made  some  bread 
which  tasted  better  to  me  than  any  other  I  had 
ever  eaten.  As  I  was  eating  or  rather  devouring 
it,  the  familiar  phrase  "Bread  is  the  staff  of  life," 
occurred  to  me,  and  I  wondered  if  the  author  ever 
had  a  similar  experience  before  he  penned  those 
words.  The  salt  gave  the  jerked  moose  a  flavor 
that  made  it  very  palatable  indeed,  after  having 
eaten  so  much  of  it  without  seasoning.  The  flesh 
of  the  moose  is  very  much  like  venison.  This  and 
bear  meat  were  the  only  fresh  meat  we  had  in  that 


I 


ee  THE  BEST  BREAD  I  EVER  ATE 

country,  until  later  when  some  steers  were  driven 
into  the  district,  and  beef  was  a  pleasing  variation 
from  the  usual  bill  of  fare. 

We  lost  no  time  in  continuing  down  the  Yukon. 
Soon  after  we  started,  however,  a  snow  storm  arose 
and  compelled  us  to  go  into  camp.  It  lasted  for  a 
day  and  a  half  when  it  ceased  as  suddenly  as  it  had 
commenced.  The  cold  was  very  penetrating  and, 
though  we  had  no  way  to  ascertain  the  temperature, 
I  have  no  doubt  the  thermometer  would  have  regis- 
tered at  least  twenty  degrees  below  zero.  The  wind 
was  strong  and  the  sharp  particles  of  snow  cut  like 
a  knife.  We  covered  our  tent  with  about  two  feet 
of  spruce  branches,  kept  the  stove  well  filled  with 
wood  and  wrapping  our  blankets  around  us  were 
well  protected  from  the  storm  and  quite  comfort- 
able. We  chafed  under  the  delay  as  we  thought  the 
creek  might  all  be  staked  out  before  we  could  arrive 
on  the  ground.  What  we  thought  to  be  our  mis- 
fortune, however,  turned  out  to  be  our  good  fortune, 
as  will  appear  later  in  this  narrative.  Finally  the 
storm  ceased,  the  sun  shone  as  before,  and  we,  grat- 
ified at  our  release,  again  set  out  for  the  Eldorado 
of  the  world. 

Four  and  a  half  days  after  we  left  Low  Water 
Bar,  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Klondyke.  Here 
we  found  our  partners  waiting  for  us  as  they  ex- 
pected we  would  join  the  stampede.  They  had  lost 
their  raft  on  the  Stewart  river,  having  run  on  a 
rock  and  the  strong  current  had  torn  it  to  pieces 
before  they  could  get  it  adrift.    They  had,  however. 


1^^ 


■WIPinWIllllBBB^Bi 


REACHING  THE  KLONDYKE 


tl 


gone  on  down  the  river  and  had  each  staked  a 
claim  on  Bonanza  Creek.  We  lost  no  time  here  but 
started  immediately  for  the  Bonanza  which  is  about 
28  miles  from  the  confluence  of  the  Klondyke 
and  Yukon.  We  went  overland  following  an  old 
Indian  trail  which  had  been  used  for  many  years  by 
the  natives  in  getting  to  their  hunting  grounds  in 
the  mountains.  This  tr'^il  is  the  hypothenuse,  as  it 
were,  of  the  angle  formed  by  the  Klondyke  River 
and  Bonanza  Creek  which  it  crosses  near  Discovery, 
about  twenty-five  miles  up  the  stream.  We  found 
this  creek  staked  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  which 
was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  us.  However,  we 
did  not  sit  down  and  waste  our  time  in  regrets  but 
pushed  on  until  we  had  reached  the  Eldorado.  This 
looked  inviting  but  at  that  time  gold  had  not  been 
found  in  the  Gulch.  We  were  determined  to  drive 
our  stakes  somewhere  in  this  district  and  concluded 
that  this  would  perhaps  do  as  well  as  any  other 
place.  We  hurried  out  to  Dawson  City  and  made 
our  applications  for  which  we  paid  $15.00  each  in 
dust.  We  now  had  four  claims  but  did  not  know 
that  they  were  worth  the  sixty  dollars  we  had  paid  for 
filing  them,  nor  could  we  tell  until  the  ground  froze 
up,  as  we  could  not  sink  a  shaft  on  account  of  the 
high  water  which  covered  them  at  this  season.  But 
little  time  was  left  for  us  to  look  up  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions for  the  winter  as  it  was  now  the  39th  day  of 
September,  and  the  river  might  freeze  over  any  time. 
In  fact  we  had  taken  a  desperate  risk  in  not  looking 
after  this  important  matter  earlier.     Neither  had 


r 


;k 


iMlii 


ft 


08  STAKING  OUR  CLAIMS 

we  erected  a  cabin,  and  if  the  winter  should  set  in 

before  we  had  comfortable  quarters  we  might  sufler 
severely  from  the  cold.  As  soon  as  we  had  secured  our 
claims  we  started  down  the  Yukon,  havini^f  failed  to 
get  provisionr.  at  Dawson  City.  Such  as  we  had 
procur*"d  at  Sixty  Mile  Post  were  now  nearly  gone. 
We  had  plenty  of  gold  but  we  could  not  tat  it.  For 
a  time  I  wondered  if  this  metal  was  such  valuable 
stuff  aft-^r  all.  It  seemed  that  the  whole  world  was 
striving  to  obtain  it,  myself  among  the  rest,  and  yet, 
now  that  it  could  not  be  exchanged  for  food,  I  did 
not  appreciate  it  as  formerly.  Still,  we  might  ob- 
tain such  supplies  as  we  needed  ai  Forty  Mile  or 
Fort  Cuda^'"  •  or  even  if  we  were  obliq:ed  to  go  down 
the  Yukon  ior  a  distance  of  two  hi;ndred  and  sev- 
enty-five miles  to  Circle  City,  we  would  have  been 
satisfied  if  we  were  r-u:  v  to  get  them.  We  must 
have  provisions  and  i\s  th"re  were  none  up  the 
river  we  must  p^'oceed  with  the  current  until  we  had 
obtained  at  l^ast  enough  to  keep  us  froiu  starving 
during  the  long  cold  winter. 

On  our  way  down,  we  met  the  rear  guard  of  stam- 
peding Forty  Mile  bound  for  the  Klondyke.  It  was 
a  motley  procession.  On  rafts  and  in  boats  of  every 
description  were  all  sorts  of  people  taking  with 
ti:em  everything  movable.  Foity  Mile  was  literally 
moving  for  tho  Yukon.  Nearly  every  living  thing 
that  h?,d  previously  called  Forty  Mile  "home"  was 
in  line.  Men  who  had  been  in  a  drunken  stupor 
for  weeks  were  stowed  in  the  bottom  of  boats  and 
taken  along  to  locate  claims.    All  classes  of  human- 


DOWN  THE  YUKON  AFTER  FOOD 


69 


ity  wfre  there.  Honest,  hard-working  miners,  sa- 
loon keepers  and  their  attaches  and  hangers-on,  the 
female  followers  of  mining  camps,  and,  in  fact,  evcr> 
human  being  save  the  attendants  of  the  trading 
post.  Indeed  it  was  a  wild,  mad  rush,  each  striving 
to  reach  the  golden  land  before  the  other.  It  was  a 
sight  to  look  upon,  and  I  could  thoroughly  enjoy 
it,  as  I  had  been  in  many  stampedes  myself.  In 
fact  we  had  just  experienced  the  same  feeling, 
though  we  had  but  little  company,  as  the  region 
above  was  sparsely  populated.  The  symptom  con- 
sists of  a  grasping,  feverish,  impatient  anxiety  that 
can  be  relieved  only  by  reaching  the  destination 
sought;  it  matters  not  if  the  pursuit  be  swift, the  pace 
seems  always  slow.  All  human  feeling,  pity,  gen- 
erosity, sympathy  and  even  conimon  sense  are,  for 
the  time,  overpowered  by  the  animal  nature,  and, 
like  a  pack  of  starving  wolves  in  pursuit  of  prey, 
they  push  wildly  on. 

When  we  were  about  twenty-five  miles  above 
Forty  Mile  we  were  overtaken  by  a  storm.  The 
weather  became  suddenly  very  cold,  so  cold  in  fact 
that  a  coating  of  ice  formed  on  the  river.  We  at 
first  thought  that  winter  had  set  in  and  that  we 
would  have  to  forsake  our  boats  and  make  our  way 
with  sleds.  It  was  a  dreary  prospect.  With  noth- 
ing but  a  tent  for  shelter  and  but  a  small  supply  of 
provisions,  we  felt  far  from  comfortable.  The 
freeze,  however,  proved  to  be  but  a  warning,  evi- 
dently sent  out  to  notify  us  that  winter  was  hard  by. 
The  weather  moderated  and  at  the  end  of  four  days 


II  H 


■■MB 


70 


A  STORM  ON  THE  BIG  RIVER 


il: 


:  ;. 


hi 


the  ice  broke  up.  We  dragged  our  boat  upon  a 
large  cake  of  this  slush  Ice  and  taking  our  places 
inside  floated  down  with  it.  This  we  did  in  order 
to  keep  our  boats  from  being  jammed.  It  was  a 
happy  thought,  but  even  then  we  had  all  we  could 
do  to  keep  them  from  being  sto  v'e  in,  as  large  cakes 
of  ice  continually  mounted  that  on  which  we  were 
drifting  and  we  were  kept  constantly  at  work  push- 
ing it  away  with  our  poles.  At  one  time,  the  field 
of  ice  of  which  the  cake  we  were  on  formed  a  part, 
became  jammed  between  two  small  islands,  and 
the  grating  noise  of  the  crushing  ice  made  us  shiver 
as  it  crept  closer  and  closer.  The  front  of  the  floe, 
wedged  in  between  these  islands,  would  not  yield  to 
the  pressure  oi  the  current  and  as  the  frigid  mass 
swayed  and  trembled  huge  pieces  were  pushed  out 
of  the  river  and  shot  upon  the  shore. 

The  cakes  of  ice  coming  down  from  behind  piled 
one  upon  another  and  cut  oflf  our  retreat.  It  was  a 
close  pinch,  and,  for  a  few  moments,  alarming,  but 
an  angle  seemed  to  fonii  around  us  and  we  were 
safe  unless  this  gave  way.  We  could  do  nothing  to 
strengthen  it  and,  with  bated  breath,  we  watched  the 
outcome.  Would  the  pressure  grow  too  great  and 
our  protecting  wall  be  forced  in?  Soon>  however, 
much  to  our  relief,  the  field  separated,  dividing 
both  ways,  and  left  us  on  the  outside.  The  mass 
became,  as  it  were,  top-heavy  on  both  sides  at  once, 
and  when  it  separated  one-half  of  it  went  around 
either  island. 

We  continued  on  down  the  river,  occsisionally 


f 


r 


IN  THE  CLUTCHES  OF  AN  ICE  JAM        71 

spying  an  opening  where  we  could  row  and  gain  a 
little  on  the  current.  At  times,  we  were  forced  to 
take  refuge  on  some  friendly  cake  of  ice  and  wait 
another  chance  to  proceed  without  danger.  It  was 
a  perilous  journey,  but  we  were  driven  on  by  neces- 
sity. We  must  have  a  stock  of  provisions  or  we 
would  surely  die  from  starvation  ere  the  winter 
passed.  We  had  learned  from  those  we  met  on  the 
way  that  re  were  provisions  at  Foffy  Mile  but 
that  the  stock  was  rapidly  decreasing,  and  our  only 
hope  was  to  arrive  there  ere  it  had  entirely  disap- 
peared. Finally  we  reached  the  trading  post  in 
safety,  though  we  had  a  number  of  narrow  escapes 
from  being  crushed  in  the  ice. 

Fortunately  the  provisions  were  not  all  gone, 
though  we  could  only  purchase  our  allowance.  The 
trading  companies  had  estimated  the  number  of  men 
that  were  depending  on  them  for  supplies  and  also 
the  amount  of  provisions  they  had  on  the  river  and 
had  concluded  to  pro-rate  their  stock  among  them. 
We  could  get  but  one  hundred  pounds  of  flour  to  the 
man  and  other  provisions  handled  by  the  companies 
in  proportion.  This  forethought  on  the  part  of  the 
traders  proved  to  be  a  timely  precaution  against 
famine  and  much  credit  is  due  them  for  thus  look- 
ing after  the  prospectors  who  depend  on  them  for 
their  winter  supplies  when  they  return  to  these 
oases  of  civilization  after  a  summer  spent  in  the  hills. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Was  There  Qold  in  Otir  Claims  P— The  Placer  Miner's 
Ever  Beviving  Hopes— Is  it  Clondyke,  Klondyke  or 
KlondikeP— The  Story  of  George  W.  McCormack, 
the  original  Disorder  of  this  Nature's  Treasure 
House,  August  16,  1896. 

The  ice  had  now  run  down  and  we  conld  return 
in  safety  to  the  Klondyke.  We  were  anxious  to 
return  before  the  winter  set  in,  as  we  could  make 
our  way  by  boat  much  easier  than  by  sled.  Then, 
too,  we  wanted  to  know  whether  our  claims  were 
on  the  pay  streaks  or  not  and  v/e  could  tell  only  by 
driving  a  shaft  to  bed  rock. 

The  life  of  a  placer  miner  is  one  of  constant  hope. 
If  a  man  is  not  endowed  with  a  most  sanguine  dis- 
position he  will  never  be  a  successful  prospector. 
The  same  fascination  that  leads  men  to  wager  hard- 
earned  money  on  the  high  card,  enters  into  this  oc- 
cupation. The  hope  of  obtaining  a  promising  loca- 
tion is  so  fascinating  that  it  leads  one  on  through 
months  of  hardships  that  could  not  be  endured  for 
a  week  by  a  pessimistic  or  morose  nature.  Then 
comes  the  task  of  sinking  a  shaft  through  ten  to 
thirty  feet  of  frozen  ground,  literally  burning  one's 
way  through,  working  almost  day  and  night,  sus- 
tained by  the  hope  that  one  will  be  rewarded  with 
yellow  nuggets  ere  bed  rock  is  reached.  How  eager- 
ly the  miner  watches  the  test  pans  from  time  to  time, 

(78) 


! 


iV'^  '£r^~  *"  ■  "nTT""*^'- 


UNDYING  HOPES  OF  THE  MINER 


73 


and  when  the  first  color  is  obtained  how  his  face 
Hirhts  up  with  satisfaction.  If  he  finds  that  he  lias 
"struck  pay  dirt"  he  feels  that,  at  last,  his  efforts 
have  been  rewarded.  After  staking  a  discovery 
claim  he  hastens  out  to  tell  his  good  fortune  to  all 
he  meets.  He  advises  them  to  locate  on  the  same 
creek,  for  a  prospector  is  generous  and  v/ould  share 
with  friend  or  stranger.  A  dwarfed  heart  cannot  re- 
main long  such  in  the  outskirts  of  civilization ;  it  will 
soon  be  expanded  by  the  surrounding  warmth  o! 
good  fellowship,  or  else  be  frozen  to  death  by  the 
chilly  neglect.  The  miner  is  loyal  to  his  friends  and 
honorable  in  all  h  dealings ;  he  is  the  Solon,  and  in 
many  cases  the  executor  of  his  laws,  which  are 
founded  on  the  text  "Do  unto  others  as  you  would 
have  them  do  unto  you."  As  civilization  advances, 
his  eyes  will  wander  toward  the  wilderness  and  wist- 
fully scan  the  horizon;  and  when  the  pressure  be- 
comes too  great  he  will  set  out  and,  accompanied 
by  his  dogs  as  his  sole  companions  will  push  be- 
yond its  borders  to  return  with  the  news  of  another 
strike;  or,  if  unsuccessful,  he  will  come  back  for 
more  provisions  to  sustain  him  while  he  continues 
the  search.  Such  are  the  characteristics  of  the 
typical  prospector. 

But  to  return  to  our  trip.  We  started  back,  up 
the  river,  feeling  well  satisfied  with  our  success  in 
having  obtained  this  meager  supply.  To  be  sure, 
we  must  have  more  ere  the  winter  had  passed;  but 
we  had  learned  that  the  "  \lice"  was  expected  at 
Dawson  City  before  the  freeze  set  in  for  good  and 


m 


ajr    5    i)m  ' ,  • 


74  WAITING  FOR  THE  KLONDYKE  TO  FREEZE 

we  hoped  to  be  able  to  procure  an  additional  supply 
from  her  cargo. 

On  our  way  up,  we  overtook  several  men  who 
had  met  with  accidents  by  the  ice.  In  some  in- 
stances, their  boats  had  been  crushed  and  their  out- 
fits partly  ruined.  As  a  rule,  however,  they  had 
saved  some  portion  of  it  and  were  not  sufTering, 
though  they  were  delayed  until  they  had  built  rafts 
on  which  to  proceed. 

In  this  country  where  flour  and  bacon  are  so 
precious,  a  man  will  take  great  risk  of  life  in  order 
to  protect  hiG  supplies.  He  will  even  use  his  body, 
as  one  ordinarily  uses  one's  hands,  to  ward  off 
blows  from  ice  or  rock  that  might  endanger  the 
cargo  of  his  frail  craft  as  the  loss  of  it  might  result 
in  hi?  starving  in  the  wilderness. 

After  five  days'  poling,  we  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Klondyke  River  with  our  supplies  in  good 
conditions,  and  pitched  our  tents  on  ground  now 
occupied  by  Dawson  City. 

At  this  time,  there  were  but  a  few  tents  here  and 
only  two  or  three  cabirs,  Joe  Ladue  had  already 
made  application  to  locate  the  ground  and  had 
erected  a  sawmill  here  which  he  had  moved  down 
the  Yukon  from  Sixty  Mile. 

We  went  into  camp  with  the  intention  of  walthig 
until  the  Klondyke  should  freeze  over  so  that  v/e 
could  convey  our  provisions,  by  sled,  to  our  claims 
on  the  Eldorado.  This  was  necessary  as  our  claims 
were  about  twenty-eight  miles  away  over  a  rough 


I. 


"•■P'' 


FROM  "THORN  DUYCK"  TO  "KLONDYKE"  76 

and  mountainous  trail,  which  was  covered  with  soft, 
flufty  moss  about  a  foot  deep. 

There  seems  to  be  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
correct  way  to  spell  this  word.  Some  spell  it 
K-1-o-n-d-y-k-e  while  others,  of  as  good  authority, 
persist  in  spelling  it  with  a  "C."  Klondyke  is  prob- 
ably correct  as  the  Canadian  officials  spell  it  in  this 
way  and  so  does  the  mining  Commissioner  for  the 
Klondyke  district.  On  the  Canadian  maps,  where 
the  river  is  noted  at  all,  it  is  spelled  with  a  "K." 
The  Commissioner  is  perhaps  the  best  authority 
and,  in  writing  this  volume,  his  orthography  will 
be  accepted. 

The  Indians  call  it  "Thron  Duyck,"  which  sig- 
nifies in  their  language  "plenty  of  fish."  However 
the  authorities  differ  as  to  the  proper  spelling  of  the 
name,  there  is  one  thing  on  which  all  agree,  that  is, 
that  the  branches  of  this  river,  notably  Bonanza  and 
Eldorado  Creeks,  mark  the  richest  placer  mines 
that  the  world  has  record  of. 

The  mines  of  California,  in  her  balmiest  days, 
were  not  to  be  compared  with  these.  Those  of  Aus- 
tralia, South  Africa  and  New  Zealand  pale  into  in- 
significance when  compared  with  those  of  the  El- 
dorado and  Bonanza.  Tt  has  been  said  that  truth 
is  stranger  than  fiction;  here  indeed  is  this  saying 
justified,  for  tlie  tales  that  have  been,  and  that  will 
be  told  of  what  has  transpired  in  this  strange  land 
will  surpass  the  imaginings  of  a  Haggard  or  a 
Jules  Verne. 

Discovered  by  accident,  prospected  with  fire,  lo- 


98 


McCORMACK,  THE  DISCOVERER 


cated  when  the  mercury  was  frozen  solid  in  the 
thermometer  and  worked  by  men  who  had  little 
else  to  eat  but  gold — in  those  few  words  the  tale 
might  be  accurately  told. 

This  store  of  treasure  was  discovered  in  August, 
1896,  by  George  W.  McCormack,  a  native  of  Il- 
linois, who,  with  his  family,  lived  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Klondyke  River.  He  has  been  living  on  the 
Yukon  for  a  number  of  years  and  has  an  Indian 
wife  and  two  half  breed  children. 

He,  with  two  Indians,  was  fishing  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Klondyke,  but  as  the  salmon  did  not  run  up 
the  Yukon  in  1896  his  fishing  was  unsuccessful,  and 
in  disgust  he  went  up  the  stream  prospecting^.  There 
were  no  indications  on  the  Klondyke  that  its 
branches  held  gold  in  paying  quantities,  still,  urged 
to  do  so  by  the  Indians,  he  determined  to  inves- 
tigate. They,  it  seems,  knew  of  the  existence  of 
gold  here,  and  guided  him  to  the  spot  where  it  was 
found.  In  all  probabilit\ ,  had  the  salmon  been  run- 
ning up  the  Yukon  in  the  summer  of  1896  as  usual, 
the  Klondyke  would  still  be  an  insignificant  little 
stream  up  near  the  Arctic  Circle  that  few  had  ever 
seen  or  even  heard  of.  Striking  camp,  McCormack 
started  out  into  the  howling  wilderness;  with  but 
little  food,  and  that  of  the  coarsest  kind,  he  strug- 
gled on,  and  finally,  aflir  days  of  agonizing  toil, 
reached  the  region  that  will  give  to  the  world  per- 
haps a  billion  in  gold.  Arriving  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Bonanza  Creek  he  turned  up  and  continued  on- 
ward a  distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles.    Poling 


^  ^ 


McCORMACK,  THE  DISCOVERER 


77 


a  boat  against  a  rapid  current  was  no  easy  task, 
but  by  constant  work,  stopping  occasionally  to  pros- 
pect some  point  or  bar  that  looked  inviting,  he,  with 
his  two  native  companions,  reached  the  goal  of  their 
ambition. 

The  surface  prospect  was  encouraging;  in  fact, 
rich.  The  first  pan  washed  out  about  two  bits 
(twenty-five  cents)  worth  of  gold.  A  fire  was  built, 
and  the  earth  thawed  out  for  a  depth  of  three  feet. 
Here  a  test  gave  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  to 
the  pan.  Deeper  they  went  and  the  value  per  pan 
increased  with  every  inch  until  bed  rock  was 
reached,  then  he  knew  that  he  had  struck  a  bo- 
nanza. The  pay  streak  proved  wide,  deep  and  rich. 
In  two  weeks  they  had  taken  out  fourteen  thousand 
dollars. 

Provisions  ran  short,  and  a  messenger  had  to  be 
dispatched  to  the  great  highway  of  that  part  of  the 
world,  the  Yukon,  for  an  additional  supply.  Thus 
the  news  of  the  great  strike  was  heralded  to  the 
world.  The  Indian  messenger  joined,  at  this  point, 
other  prospectors  who  were  at  the  river  on  the 
same  mission.  Once,  each  year,  a  river  steamer 
passed  this  point  on  its  way  to  Sixty  Mile  and  Fort 
Belkirk  where  it  went  annually  with  supplies.  It 
was  llie  liulill  nf  proHpertorB  to  gather  on  the  bank 
of  the  river  al  llil«  lliiic  to  purchase  provisions  from 
the  captain  and  incidynlally  learn  what  they  could 
from  the  outside  world. 

As  I  sat  there  in  my  tent  I  could  imagine  the 
news  first  told  in  the  most  picturesquely  romantic 


i 


78 


THE  NEV:S  SPREAD 


spot  on  earth.  Weirdness,  solemnity  and  vastness, 
the  elements  of  grandeur  entered  into  the  scenery 
from  all  sides,  relieved,  as  it  were,  by  dainty  shrub- 
bery and  plants  and  flowers  even,  that  seemed 
to  dance  in  the  embrace  of  the  gentle  breezes  of  a 
Yukon  summer,  and  lend  to  the  scene  a  sub- 
dued beauty  that  cannot  be  reproduced  by  brush  or 
pen. 

The  Yukon,  at  this  point,  grand,  majestic,  sol- 
emn, stretching  as  it  does,  far  to  the  west,  fills  its 
canyon-like  channel  and  goes  rolling  on  toward  the 
briny  deep.  A  mile  and  a  quarter  wide  of  cold,  muddy 
water  hurrying  past,  seemingly  bound  for  the  north 
pole,  or  may  be,  anxious  to  lap  the  sides  of  an  ice- 
berg in  the  Behring  Sea.  Kissed  by  the  sun  at 
midnight,  it  seems  to  mock  less  fortunate  waters 
that  must  travel  in  the  dark;  laughingly  it  gathers 
up  little  streams  that  plunge  in  on  either  side  and, 
filled  with  satisfaction  it  flows  on.  The  Klondyke, 
soon  to  electrify  the  world,  coming  down  from  the 
east  with  a  roar  that  seems  to  defy  the  intrusion 
of  man,  and  to  frighten  prospective  invaders  away 
from  the  treasure  hidden  in  its  branches  above, 
lends  a  dashing,  boisterous  presence  to  the  scene 
which  contrasts  well  with  the  solemn,  majestic  flow 
of  the  Yukon.  The  mountains  arising  almost  per- 
pendicular from  the  running  water,  massive,  bare 
and  hoary  with  age,  snow-capped  perpetually, 
looming  up  toward  the  heavens  in  an  attitude  of 
pride,  one  solid  mass  of  quartz  and  marble,  ochre- 
colored  and  in  places  streaked  with  gray  with  an 


THE  MAJESTIC  YUKON 


79 


occasional  patch  of  green,  reflecting  the  sun's  rays 
hither  and  thither,  and  creating  tints  and  shades 
that  Raphael  never  dreamed  of.  Trees  on  every 
hand,  not  magnificent,  but  beautiful  when  con- 
trasted with  the  surrounding  grandeur;  they  have  a 
hard  time  to  live  in  this  region  of  ice  and  snow, 
seemingly  discouraged  at  the  vastness  on  every 
hand,  sighing  with  satisfaction  at  the  warm  embrace 
of  the  midnight  sun,  and  whispering  their  secrets 
to  the  birds  and  flowers.  Yes,  flowers,  blooming 
on  the  river  bank  beside  cakes  of  ice,  smiling  and 
nodding  to  the  trees  and  birds  and  even  to  the 
haughty  mountains,  gladdening  the  landscape  and 
giving  forth  a  sweet  perfume  that  fills  the  air  with 
fragrance. 

In  the  midst  of  this  wonderful  and  boundless 
beauty,  set  upon  a  ground  work  of  green,  resting 
on  a  background  of  blue,  and  framed  in  the  golden 
rays  of  the  setting  sun,  was  told  for  the  first  time 
the  tale  of  the  fabulous  wealth  of  the  Klondyke. 

The  little  birds  twittered  in  the  tree  tops.  Can  it 
be  that  they  were  discussing  tt:  ;i»auties  of  this  pan- 
orama, or  were  they  disturbe-l  by  iitrudcrs?  It  must 
be  the  latter,  for  human  being  arc  about.  A  camp- 
fire  is  burning,  and  there,  under  the  tices,  are  men 
with  hair  unkempt  and  shaggy  beards,  dressed  in 
mackinaws  and  high  top  boots,  and  bronzed  by  ex- 
posure to  the  weather.  It  is  time  that  they  were 
wrapped  in  their  blankets  and  asleep  though  the 
sun  is  not  yet  set;  dogs  are  with  them  but  unlike 
their  masters,  are  asleep. 


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30  NATURE'S  TREASURE  HOUSE  REVEALED 

Listen !  the  youngest  Is  expatiating  on  the  loveli- 
ness and  goodness  of  a  bonny  blue-eyed  lass  wait- 
ing for  him  in  the  East,  six  thousand  miles  away. 
Telling  how  he  promised  to  win  wealth  and  fame 
and  return  to  her.  He  little  dreams  that  in  a  few 
short  days  he  will  be  a  millionaire.  Look!  the  -dogs 
are  aroused  and  are  standing  with  heads  erect  and 
ears  pointed  forward.  Do  they  scent  something? 
Listen — a  noise,  a  canoe  floating  down  the  Klon- 
dyke  with  an  Indian  occupant.  He  is  paddling  for 
this  bank,  and,  swinging  the  canoe  gracefully  in,  is 
soon  landed.  He  is  greeted  by  the  miners  with  a 
hearty  "Come  along,  stranger!"  and  is  soon  seated 
beside  the  camp-fire,  frying  a  piece  of  bacon 
which  he  eats  with  a  hunk  of  sour  dough 
bread,  washing  both  down  with  water.  Hav- 
ing finisheu,  he  gives  a  grunt  of  satisfaction, 
and  after  lighting  his  pipe  with  a  coal  from 
the  fire,  is  ready  for  conversation.  "Where  from, 
stranger?"  This  by  a  middle-aged  man  whose  ap- 
pearance would  seem  to  stamp  him  as  the  leader  of 
the  small  party  and  who  evidently  is  more  at  home 
in  the  wilderness  than  his  companions.  The  Indian, 
in  the  deliberate,  methodical  manner  peculiar  to  his 
race,  points  to  the  east.  "How  far?"  The  Indian 
again  signified  his  answer  by  a  wave  of  the  hand, 
which  however,  is  well  understood  by  the  olcl  miner. 
"Who  is  with  you?" 

"George  McCormack." 

"What  is  he  doing,  prospecting?" 

"Digging  gold,  digging  gold!" 


THE  INDIAN  TELLS  THE  TALE 


81 


«, 


'Ah!  has  he  found  gold  in  that  country?" 

All  Nature  is  hushed,  appearing  to  stand  still  and 
listen.    "What!    Has  man  again  delved  into  our 
archives  and  discovered  another  of  our  secrets?" 
*  The  answer  comes:  "Yes." 

And  then,  in  the  poetic  language  of  the  northern 
Indian,  he  relates  the  wonderful  story  of  boundless 
wealth,  the  story  that  was  ere  long  to  set  the  civil- 
ized world  agog  and  be  the  talk  of  a  universe ;  caus- 
ing thousands  to  leave  comfortable  homes  and 
happy  families  to  worship  at  the  shrine  of  this 
golden  god. 

Seated  by  the  camp-fire,  wrapped  in  a  blanket  of 
many  colors,  this  red  man  of  the  Yukon  told  a  tale 
of  riches  galore.  His  little  audience,  uncouth, 
weather-beaten,  hungry,  listened,  spellbound  with 
wonder,  eyes  widened  with  astonishment,  and, 
thrilled  to  the  marrow,  they  drank  in  this  strange 
revelation,  while  the  mountains  near  by,  basking  in 
the  midnight  sun,  seemed  to  blush  (as  a  maiden, 
surprised  with  her  first  love  letter),  that  their  secret 
guarded  so  well  for  thousands  of  years,  had  at  last 
been  discovered.  Thus  was  the  news  of  the  Klon- 
dyke  Eldorado  first  revealed  to  the  world. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


The  Birth  of  a  New  City— Joe  Ladue  Locates  Dawson, 
September  1,  1896 — Grows  to  5,000  Inhabitants  as 
if  by  Magic— What  it  Costs  to  Live  There— One 
Thousand  Fjecious  Dogs — ^Wages  Paid  Unskilled 
Labor— A  Boisterous  but  Orderly  Crowd. 


We  were  delayed  longer  than  we  had  expected 
when  we  pitched  our  tents.  Though  we  were  anx- 
ious to  get  to  work  on  our  claims,  we  had  to  make 
the  best  of  it  and  wait. 

I  cannot  say  that  time  hung  heavily  on  our  hands 
for  here  we  were  present  at  a  scene,  the  like  of 
which  it  had  never  been  my  lot  to  witness,  and  I 
doubt  if  those  who  were  with  me  will  ever  again  be 
so  fortunate. 

In  the  six  weeks  that  we  were  waiting  a  city 
sprung  up  around  this  sawmill.  Men  came  from 
all  directions  and  in  every  conceivable  way,  except 
on  bicycles.  Many  of  them,  like  ourselves,  had 
located  claims  and  then  gone  down  the  river  after 
supplies!^  Others  were  just  returning  from  up  the 
Stewart,  Indian  and  other  rivers  where  they  had 
been  mining  and  prospecting. 

Others  came  over  the  trail  from  Juneau  bound 
for  Forty  Mile  and  Circle  City,  but  when  they 
learned  that  both  these  mining  towns  were  moving 
up  the  Yukon  they  halted  just  long  enough  to  get 

(82) 


THE  BIRTH  OF  A  NEW  CITY  tt 

their  bearings  and  then  rushed  for  the  hills  to  stake 
out  claims. 

Dawson  City  has  become  a  city  of  about  five 
thousand  inhabitants.  In  fact  within  a  radius  of 
forty  miles  are  located  nearly  the  entire  population 
of  Alaska.  If  the  thousands  who  started  over  the 
pass  this  fall,  get  through,  this  population  will  be 
nearly  doubled. 

All  the  "tin  horn"  gamblers,  saloon  keepers,  and 
scarlet  women  of  the  whole  territory  have  ^entered 
here,  and  every  crooked  device  known  has  found  its 
way  over  the  ice  and  snow  to  attach  itself  to  this 
town  and  fleece  the  dust  from  the  miners. 

Every  place  of  vice  is  wide  open,  running  day 
and  night  alike,  and  the  Sabbath  is  kept  only  by 
a  few  stray  almanacs  and  calendars,  which  have 
found  their  way  into  this  isolated  spot. 

Town  lots  have  been  sold  for  as  high  as  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  and  the  price  is  still  increasing. 

While  we  were  in  camp  here  the  "Alice"  arrived 
with  a  load  of  provisions  f^nd  was  loaded  to  her 
utmost  capacity  with  miners  from  Forty  Mile. 
Later  the  "Arctic"  came  in,  bringing  a  portion  of 
Circle  City.  She  had  been  chartered  at  that  place 
by  forty-five  miners  who  paid  two  thousand  dollars 
to  be  landed  with  their  goods  at  Dawson  City. 
This  was  the  last  trip  the  "Arctic"  was  to  make; 
she  was  anchored  into  a  sluice  to  winter  and  was 
blown  up  the  next  summer  in  an  attempt  to  ex- 
tricate her  from  the  ice. 

Circle  City,  Forty  Mile,  and  in  fact  the  entire  pop- 


t'i 


84 


THE  RUSH  TO  THE  GOLD  FIELDS 


ulation  of  the  Yukon  River  basin  moved  to  Daw- 
son City  with  a  rush  and  left  all  the  other  towns 
depopulated. 

The  rear  guard  did  not  arrive  until  well  into 
the  winter,  coming  up  the  Yukon  over  the  ice  and 
snow.  This  trip  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
miles  in  the  heart  of  winter  was  a  hard  one,  but 
everyone  got  through,  and  not  a  life  was  lost  on 
the  trail,  though  many  had  their  feet  and  other 
extremities  frozen  so  badly  that  fingers  and  toes 
had  to  be  amputated. 

At  Dawson  City  there  are  two  stores.  One  be- 
longs to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company^  the 
other  to  the  North  American  Transportation  and 
Trading  Company.  On  these  two  establishments, 
every  one  who  goes  to  Dawson  without  provisions 
must  mainly  rely.  Even  those  who  have  a  good  out* 
fit  will  find  it  often  necessary  to  patronize  one  or 
the  other  of  the  stores.  Prices  are  on  an  average 
three  times  as  high  as  at  Juneau  or  St.  Michael's 
and  four  or  five  as  steep  as  in  the  States.  When  the 
winter  is  nearly  over  and  supplies  begin  to  run 
short  prices  are,  as  a  consequence,  raised.  To- 
ward the  close  of  last  winter,  before  the  new  sup- 
plies came  up  the  river,  everything  was  hard  to 
obtain  at  any  price. 

At  times,  through  the  winter,  men  arrived  at 
Dawson  City,  bringing  with  them  from  one  to  two 
tons  of  food  and  clothing.  They  had  come  up  the 
streams,  carrying  their  goods  on  their  backs,  taking 
care  to  lose  nothing  for  their  time  and  trouble. 


IN  THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF  DAWSON  CITY   85 


There  was  only  one  blacksmith  shop.  To  this 
place  miners  must  all  go  or  send  when  they  have 
tools  to  be  repaired,  or  when  they  need  anything 
made  to  order  which  the  stores  cannot  supply. 

Dawson  City  could  boast  of  two  practicing  phy- 
sicians, Police  Surgeon  Wills  and  another  doctor 
who  came  from  Circle  City  to  Dawson  last  year. 
They  carry  theij*  own  supplies  of  staple  drugs  and 
medicines,  so  as  to  be  able  to  compound  their  pre- 
scriptions. Ordinary  remedies  are  to  be  obtained 
at  the  two  trading  stores. 

There  was  but  one  lodging-house  in  Dawson  last 
winter,  though  the  name  of  lodging-house  is  a  cour- 
tesy in  this  case.  It  was  a  low  log  house,  and  has 
been  replaced  by  a  better  one. 

Laborers  in  the  mines  and  handcraftsmen  fare 
about  the  same,  though  carpenters  last  winter  ob- 
tained $30  a  day,  whereas  miners  got  $15.  There  is 
great  difficulty  in  finding  men  willing  to  work  at 
their  trades. 

The  cost  of  living  for  a  single  man  without  sup- 
plies varied  from  $5  to  $7.50  or  more  a  day.  Single 
meals  cost  $1.50  each. 

There  were  two  assayers  in  Dawson  City,  Messrs. 
Jaynes  and  Cornell. 

I  insert  herein  a  list  of  necessaries  and  the  prices 
they  called  for  at  the  time  of  my  stay  in  Dawson 
City: 

Overalls  $1.50  to  $3.50. 

Short  coats   , . . .  8.00. 

Trousers 6.00. 


mi 


I  IMM 


■'."  t 


86  PRICES  OF  SUPPLIES 

Socks   $  1.00. 

Leather  shoes   5.00. 

Gum  boots 12.00. 

Moccasins 1.50  to  $2.50. 

Shirts 5.00. 

Bacon $0,35  per  pound. 

Flour   $12.00  for  100  pounds. 

Beans $0.12^  per  pound. 

Coflfee 50      " 

Tea 1.25      " 

Pans $2.50  apiece. 

Picks 7.00      " 

Shovels  2.50      " 

These  were  the  lowest  figures  of  the  winter  1896- 
97. 

A  part  of  Dawson's  population  which  is  always 
in  evidence  is  fully  1,000  dogs.  These  welcome  the 
arrival  of  every  steamer  with  howls  that  would  make 
a  hundred  calliopes  seem  tame.  Every  known 
breed  of  canine  is  represented,  and  there  is  a  con- 
tinuous fight  going  on  from  1  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing until  1  o'clock  the  next  morning.  They  are 
everywhere.  Constantinople  with  its  myriads  of 
curs  is  not  to  be  compared  with  Dawson  in  this 
respect. 

They  are  sold  by  weight.  The  ruling  price  is 
$1  a  pound  up  to  seventy-five  pounds.  On  every- 
thing over  seventy-five  pounds  the  price  is  raised  to 
$1.50  per  pound.  These  were  the  prevailing  prices 
for  live  dogs  for  freighting  purposes  last  winter. 


THE  PRECIOUS  DOGS 


87 


There  is  no  telling  what  dogs  dead  or  alive  will  be 
worth  this  winter. 

The  nearest  diggings  to  Dawson  are  eight  miles 
distant,  on  Bear  Creek.  All  the  other  diggings 
are  within  twenty  miles  of  the  town. 

Dawson  is  an  all-night  town.  The  restaurants, 
saloons,  gambling  dens,  the  sawmill,  and  many 
stores  are  open  night  and  day  and  everything  goes 
with  a  rush. 

Hundreds  are  making  good  money  building 
cabins,  clearing  ground,  getting  out  logs  and  moss 
(for  chinking  the  cabins),  hunting  and  fishing,  etc. 
Moose  meat  was  seUing  at  50  cents  a  pound  in 
July,  and  the  first  King  salmon  caught  this  season 
sold  for  $20. 

Common  laborers  get  $10  to  $15  a  day,  and  car- 
penters from  $18  to  $20  a  day.  These  wages  will 
undoubtedly  rapidly  decrease  with  the  increase  of 
population. 

The  miners,  during  the  summer,  pay  25  cents  a 
pound  for  packing  freight  into  the  mines.  For  the 
same  work  in  winter  the  price  falls  to  6  to  10  cents 
per  pound. 

Living  is  proportionately  high.  Board  at  res- 
taurants will  average  $5  a  day,  the  lowest  price  be- 
ing $1.50  a  day.  Lodging  could  be  had  only  by 
putting  up  your  own  tent.  Two  hotels  are  now 
being  built. 

On  September  1,  1896,  Joe  Ladue,  the  founder 
of  Dawson  City  was  selling  his  best  lots  at  from 


'//'CTTV.yf^';,  1*^^' 


I 


88        JOE  LADUE'S  LOTS  JUMP  IN  PRICE 

$5  to  $50  each  and  the  prices  were  considered  none 
too  low.  These  same  lots  in  July,  1897,  were  sell- 
ing at  $1,000  each,  with  the  prospect  of  going  still 
higher.    Some  sold  as  high  as  $10,000. 

In  July,  1897,  Dawson  City's  population  had 
grown  to  6,000  and  every  day  people  were  pouring 
in.  Log  cabins,  16x18,  were  renting  from  $40  to 
$75  per  month,  and  none  to  be  had  at  these  prices. 

On  every  hand,  cabins  and  tents  were  being  set 
up.  It  costs  a  small  fortune  to  build  cabins  at 
Dawson  City.  One,  of  an  average  size,  costs  about 
$1,000.  Building  lumber  is  scarce  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  town,  logs  being  brought  down  the 
Yukon  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles. 

The  question  of  shelter  will  be  a  hard  problem 
for  this  winter,  as  enough  cabins  cannot  possibly 
be  built  to  accommodate  the  people  already  there. 
Living  in  tents  with  the  thermometer  ranging  from 
40  to  60  degrees  below  zero  is  almost  an  utter  im- 
possibility. There  is  no  such  thing  as  keeping 
warm  in  a  tent  when  the  weather  is  so  frigid. 

Furs  and  moccasins,  an  absolute  necessity  for 
winter  wear,  are  now  very  scarce  at  Dawson. 

The  principal  street  is  the  front  street,  facing  the 
river.  The  main  portion  of  this  is  occupied  by 
stores,  saloons,  warehouses,  dance  halls,  etc.  One 
block  is  given  over  entirely  to  saloons  and  dance 
halls. 

In  spite  of  these  bad  elements,  the  town  is  a  very 
orderly  one.     Brawls  are  very  infrequent  and  no 


THE  NETHER  SIDE  OF  A  NEW  CITY       89 

serious  crimes  have  yet  been  committed.  The  Can- 
adian mounted  police  still  represent  the  law  dis- 
pensing powers  of  the  town. 


CHAPTER  X. 


On  the  Frozen  Klondyke — ^Pitching  Our  Tent  en  the 
El  Dorado  Creek— Building  a  House — Putting  Our- 
selves on  Bationa — Our  Pirst  Beefsteak  for  MontJis 
--Starting  Our  First  Shaft  Sown  to  Bed-Bock— 
Beaching  Pay  Dirt!— Fifty  Dollars  to  the  Paiv— 
Working  With  a  Will  Through  the  Dark  Winter 
Days. 

Finally  the  Klondyke  froze  over  and  we  struck 
camp  and  loading  our  sleds  started  up  the  river. 
The  surface  of  the  ice  in  these  rivers  is  very  rough, 
as  when  the  freeze  begins  there  is  strong  objection 
made  by  the  current  to  being  frozen  in.  The  ice 
breaks  loose  and  drifts  down  until  it  lodges  against 
a  bank,  bar,  or  q,ther  ice,  when  the  freeze  continues. 
It  freezes  out  from  the  banks  and  obstructions  and 
finally  spans  the  whole  river.  This  ice  is  dislodged 
and  is  then  called  "slush  ice,"  and  in  breaking  up 
at  the  jams  forms  a  very  rough  surface. 

We  managed,  however,  to  wend  our  way  up  the 
Klondyke,  then  along  Bonanza  Creek  until  we 
reached  Eldorado  Creek. 

At  this  time,  gold  had  not  been  found  in  any 
quantity  on  the  Eldorado.  Here  we  pitched  our 
tent  and  commenced  work  on  a  house  for  winter 
quarters.  The  season  v/as  late  and  we  must  br  ", 
it  as  much  as  possible.  We  got  logs  and  j  lacea 
them,  one  upon  another,  putting  a  thick  layer  o^ 

(90) 


"A     :'1!iBKM'*' 


fiUILDING  US  A  CABIN 


M 


moss  between,  and  covered  the  roof  with  moss  and 
dirt  to  the  depth  of  a  foot. 

Fortunately,  we  had  b'^'^'^  able  to  procure  a  sash 
and  a  pair  of  hinges  at  Dav  jon  City,  so  we  had  a 
window  and  a  swinging  aoor  as  luxuries.  We 
called  this  cabin  "Mo&i  House"  and  it  was  here 
that  we  remained  during  the  long,  cold,  dark  winter. 
Of  course  we  made  some  furniture,  which  was  more 
useful  than  elegant. 

We  had  now  secured  a  roof  over  our  heads  (so 
to  speak),  ,:nd  as  our  larder  was  reasonably  well 
stocked  we  felt  relieved  and  quite  comfortable.  We 
had  traded  some  of  our  jerked  moose  with  the 
mounted  police  for  flour  and  bacon,  and  had  bought 
a  side  of  beef  from  a  man  called  Bond,  who  had 
driven  a  band  of  beef  cattle  over  the  pass  from 
Juneau.  We  felt  that  by  using  economy  we  could 
get  through  the  winter  without  starving,  though 
we  knew  that  we  would  be  obliged  to  put  ourselves 
on  rations  before  spring.  & 

Bond  had  driven  the  cattle  over  the  Dalton  pass, 
which  starts  in  at  Dyea  and  strikes  the  Yukon  at 
Sixty  Mile.  They  were  the  first  cattle  ever  brought 
into  that  section  of  the  Yukon  valley  and  supplied 
the  first  fresh  beef  that  the  miners  at  the  Yukon  had 
ever  been  able  to  procure.  Bond  had  intended  to 
drive  them  to  Forty  Mile  and  Circle  City,  but  when 
he  reached  the  river  at  Sixty  Mile  the  season  was 
so  far  advanced  that  feed  was  getting  scarce  and 
the  cattle,  though  in  good  condition,  were  getting 
poorer  each  day.    In  order  to  avoid  a  total  loss,  he 


'I 


iff' 

m 


M 


\'i\ 


m^ 


9S 


FIRST  BEEFSTEAK  IN  MONTHS 


slaughtered  them  here  and  loading  their  carcasses 
on  rafts  floated  down  to  Dawson  City.  He  sold 
them  there  for  fifty  cents  per  pound  straight 
through.  Most  of  the  miners  had  neither  dust  nor 
money,  having  expended  their  summer  earnings  in 
outfitting  for  the  winter.  Bond  trusted  them,  and, 
the  next  spring  when  he  started  out,  collected  every 
cent  of  it  without  a  bit  of  trouble.  * 

The  cattle,  in  addition  to  bringing  themselves  as 
beef,  brought  a  stock  of  other  provisions.  Each 
animal  brought  a  pack  which  Bond  had  na  difficulty 
in  disposing  of  at  very  satisfactory  figures.  An- 
other band  of  cattle  left  Seattle  about  the  middle  of 
August  this  year,  the  owners  intending  to  follow  the 
example  set  by  the  "pioneer  butcher  of  the  Yukon." 

We  had  now  gotten  comfortably  settled  for  the 
winter;  but,  as  yet,  we  did  not  know  if  our  claims 
would  prove  of  value. 

We  had  settled  well  up  into  the  mountains  and 
could  at  lea^t  put  in  our  time  prospecting  the 
country  immediately  surrounding,  if  our  claims 
should  prove  barren. 

The  boys  were  eager  to  get  to  work  prospecting 
our  claims,  so  we  cleaned  the  snow  from  the  space 
and  commenced  work.  It  was  no  easy  task,  but 
spurred  on  by  the  hope  of  striking  something  rich, 
we  did  not  mind  the  arduous  labor. 

We  started  a  shaft  eight  feet  square,  so  as  to  have 
room  to  work  in  case  we  had  to  go  deeper  than  we 
expected.  The  ground  was  now  frozen  solid  and 
we  had  to  bum  our  way.    We  would  build  a  lirfi 


m 


•w 


SINKING  OUR  FIRST  SHAFT 


93 


which  would  extract  the  frost  from  a  few  inches 
when  we  would  shovel  that  out  and  start  another 
fire. 

Day  after  day,  as  we  drew  nearer  to  bed  rock, 
we  did  a  little  panning  to  test  the  dirt  and  as  I 
would  shake  the  pan  the  boys  would  stand  about 
watching  eagerly  for  colors.  At  last  we  found 
some,  but  our  anxiety  was  not  relieved  as  even  that 
did  not  indicate  that  pay  dirt  was  beneath. 

As  we  went  deeper,  however,  the  colors  increased 
and  at  last  I  was  enabled  to  announce  that  we  had 
struck  pay  dirt.  We  weighed  the  dust  from  one 
pan  and  found  25  cents  worth  of  gold  in  it.  Hov^ 
the  boys  did  work  now  in  their  eagerness  to  reach 
bed  rock!  The  dirt  kept  getting  richer  and  richer 
as  we  worked  our  way  down.  Some  pans  would 
contain  even  as  high  as  ten  dollars  worth  of  the 
precious  metal.  Before  we  reached  bed-rock  we 
had  taken  out  as  much  as  fifty  dollars  to  the  pan. 

We  felt  now  that  we  were  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances and  our  diggings  on  the  Stewart  River  no 
longer  held  an  inducement,  and,  as  far  as  we  were 
concerned,  were  deserted  forever.  Finally  one  of 
the  boys  found  a  good  sized  nugget  and  went  viid 
with  excitem.ent.  Ah!  what  a  magician  is  gold! 
A  small  nugget  will  almost  turn  a  man's  head, 
when  picked  up  in  the  wilderness.  Stand  on  a 
street  comer  and  draw  out  of  your  pocket  a  lump 
of  virgin  gold  and  immediately  you  will  be  sur- 
rounded by  a  crowd,  each  one  eager  to  hold  it  in  his 
hand  for  an  instant,  and  looking  it  over  as  critically 


mmvv'" 


H 


A  GLORIOUS  SURPRISE 


as  though  it  were  some  valuable  article  which  he 
were  about  to  purchase. 

I  could  hardly  realize  my  great,  good  luck! 
Here,  only  from  sixteen  Lo  twenty  feet  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  was  a  fortune  for  each  of  us. 
Nor  would  we  be  obliged  to  part  with  most  of  it 
in  order  to  get  "capital"  to  develop  it.  The  brawn 
and  sinew  of  our  own  persons  were  sufficient  capital, 
and  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  apply  them  in  order 
to  reap  a  fortune. 

For  thirty  years  I  had  wandered  over  the  placer 
fields  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  Twice  be- 
fore had  I  struck  it  rich;  but  each  time,  I  had  lost 
again  my  little  whole  by  buying  property  that  did 
not  "pan  out."  I  cannot  describe  how  we  felt  when 
at  last  we  realized  that  we  were  the  possessors  of  a 
wealth  how  great  we  could  not  tell. 

It  would  hardly  entertain  the  reader  to  follow  us 
through  the  long  winter.  It  was,  however,  far  from 
monotonous  to  us,  being  in  many  cases  novel. 
Placer  miining  is  never  monotonous,  as  there  is 
always  an  expectancy  of  larger  nuggets  and  bigger 
pans.  Our  greatest  difficulty  and  one  that  gave  us 
a  great  deal  of  anxiety  was  the  provision  question. 
While  we  were  never  in  actual  want,  we  had  a  num- 
ber oi  narrow  escapes.  The  jerked  moose,  that  we 
had  prepared  while  up  the  Stewart  River,  came  in 
very  handy,  as  vre  were  enabled  to  trade  a  portion 
of  it  to  the  mounted  police  for  flour  and  bacon. 
Once,  during  the  winter,  we  paid  one  hundred  and 
ten  dollars  per  hundred,  for  flour.    It  was  hauled 


<].'i^§!IX»^m^H; 


']«'iiw").'''"*^*""''-'*'<''W*'''*^***'  ^^yf? 


■mi 


'y^W'!*!'?*'*'       ■''^  "^-vm^imfimi" 


ifinmiwfffUffS-Wi^' 


"■fWW»PR^lW|iPflfppp|i( 


mmmmmm 


o 

1-4 

n 


§ 


i  i 


i  I 


■P^PW^iW55PR!r!lJiJH|4i!JJllf  ij-i  :,-.,l» 


' 


SiS     'm.'l.:   li':,.^ 


■t'iWi!|t.!,.k''.V-.v":-:;t-» 


WW«""PPi»!iHiPPi 


wmmnmm 


WORKING  WITH  A  WILL 


95 


on  dog  sleds  from  Fort  Yukon,  over  six  hundred 
miles  down  the  river. 

We  had  no  time  for  amusement.  Our  routine 
was  to  work  a  great  deal,  sleep  a  little  and  eat  when 
we  had  the  stuff.  Of  course  we  would  visit  around 
somewhat  in  order  to  see  how  our  neighbors  were 
getting  along,  but,  as  a  rule,  nearly  every  one  stuck 
pretty  close  to  his  work.  In  the  spring,  before  the 
snow  melted,  we  got  out  logs  enough  to  build  cabins 
on  all  our  claims  and  also  enough  to  whipsaw  for 
sluice  boxes. 


■■■MMMMMMMlil 


T"^»in!»',  jjswi'*'.* ; 


CHAPTER  XL 


Watching  the  Neighbors'  Claims — El  Dorado  Creek, 
the  Richest  Placer  Mine  in  the  World— Charles 
Myers'  Banner  Pan  of  $800— Great  Difficulty  to  Get 
Help,  Even  at  $15  Per  Day— Our  4,000  feet  of 
Placer  Ground  Worth  $16,875,000— Hundreds  of 
Fine  Claims  Will  Show  up  Next  Season. 

Last  winter  while  I  was  at  the  mines  I  kept  a  con- 
stant look-out  over  the  different  clain?s  that  were 
being  worked.  Of  course  development  work  was 
slow,  as  the  season  was  so  late  when  the  Eldorado 
Creek,  in  particular,  was  staked,  that  the  winter 
caught  many  before  they  could  get  their  cabins  up 
and  provisions  in  for  a  winter's  supply. 

On  account  of  this  drawback,  many  who  had 
staked  claims  worked  for  others  who  had  been  more 
fortunate,  and  the  season  was  far  spent  before  they 
could  commence  development  work  on  their  own 
claims.  From  my  observations,  however,  I  drew 
the  conclusion  that  the  Eldorado  Creek  was  richer 
even  than  the  Bonanza.  In  fact,  so  far  as  I  have 
ever  heard  or  read,  the  Eldorado  Creek  is  by  far 
the  richest  placer  mining  district  that  has  ever  been 
discovered.  Its  vealth  is  fabulous  and  had  I  not 
seen  the  gold  taken  from  the  ground  in  such  quan- 
tities, I  would  have  been  loath  to  believe  it,  and 
would  have  looked  upon  these  great  stories  of  riches 
as  being  only  the  fruits  of  some  imaginative  brain. 

Clarence  Berry,  who  has-  a  half  interest  in  Num- 

(86) 


■P!" 


THE  BIGGEST  PANS  OF  GOLD 


M 


ber  Six  below  Discovery  on  Eldorado  Creek  has 
the  best  developed  claim  in  the  gulch.  He  em- 
ployed twelve  men  during  the  winter  in  taking  out 
the  pay  dirt. 

From  a  record  which  I  kept  of  the  panning  re- 
results  of  each  claim,  I  deducted  the  following  con- 
clusions. On  Eldorado  Creek,  No.  3,  paid  three-fifty 
to  the  pan ;  No.  4,  paid  four-fifty ;  No.  5,  nine-fifty ;  No. 
6,  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  the  pan, 
thoughthe  average  was  much  less;  No.  7, about  eight 
dollars  and  so  on.  No.  16,  washed  as  high  as  two 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars  to  the  pan,  and  from 
there  to  our  claims,  Nos.  25  and  36,  very  Httle  pan- 
ning was  done. 

A  great  deal  of  good-natured  rivalry  existed  be- 
tween the  miners  of  Bonanza  and  Eldorado  Creeks. 
The  first  rich  strike  was  made  by  Louis  Rhodes, 
who  had  No.  21  above  Discovery  on  Bonanza.  He 
got  sixty-five  dollars  and  thirty  cents  from  one  pan. 
Clarence  Berry's  No.  6,  below  Discovery,  on  El- 
dorado, was  the  first  Eldorado  mine  to  beat  this 
record.  He  took  out  one  hundred  dollars  from  one 
pan,  and  from  that  time  Eldorado  held  the  record. 
On  March  20,  Berry  took  out  one  pan  with  three 
hundred  dollars  in  it.  Jimmy  McLane  took  out 
over  two  hundred.  Frank  Piscator  took  out  one 
hundred  and  thirty-six  dollars  to  the  pan.  The 
four  Nanaimo  boys  got  as  high  as  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  to  the  pan.  In  fact  big  pans  were 
SO  common  on  Eldorado  that  the  Bonanza  boys 


mm  !W!J'».ii 


98 


A  PAN  OF  800  DOLLARS 


gave  up  the  contest  and  conceded  the  honors  to 
Eldorado. 

The  banner  pan  was  taken  out  April  14,  from  No. 
30,  Eldorado,  and  contained  eight  hundred  dollars. 
It  was  panned  by  Charles  Myers  and  though  I  heard 
of  other  pans  that  reached  one  thousand,  I  do  not 
know  that  the  reports  were  verified,  although  one 
need  not  be  surpirsed  at  anything  in  that  wonder- 
f  il  country. 

In  the  winter,  the  lower  portion  of  Bonanza 
Creek  averaged  all  the  way  from  twelve  to  thirty 
dollars  to  the  pan.  From  Discovery  to  No.  12 
above,  the  value  was  from  five  to  forty  dollars. 
From  13  up  the  value  ranged  from  fifty  cents  to 
ten  dollars  per  pan. 

From  the  work  that  has  been  done,  it  is  evident 
that  production  there  is  proportionate  to  develop- 
ment. The  yield  in  gold  is  only  limited  by  the 
amount  of  work  done  on  a  claim.  When  the  entire 
district  is  open  and  the  mines  all  working  at  once 
with  all  the  help  that  is  required,  the  production 
will  be  fabulously  large,  so  large  in  fact  that  I  hes- 
itate to  give  any  estimate  on  the  yearly  out-put. 
The  district  is  large  and  should  some  ingenious 
American  invent  a  machine  or  method  that  would 
prove  an  eflfective  aid  in  mining,  the  production 
would  reach  a  point  even  beyond  my  imagination. 

I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  creeks  in  this  dis- 
trict will  all  yield  immense  quantities  of  gold, 
though  where  a  pocket  is  found,  the  yield  will  be 
almost  beyond  belief.    Only  a  few  of  the  claims  were 


www 


ILLIMITED  GOLD  IN  THE  DISTRICT 


99 


worked  last  winter  to  any  great  extent,  and  naturally 
the  stories  that  have  reached  the  outside  world  cluster 
around  these  producers.  Of  the  sales  made,  only 
those  involving  large  sums  are  spoken  of;  thas 
properties  that  would  attract  a  large  amount  of  at- 
tention in  any  other  part  of  the  world  are  entirely 
lost  sight  of  here.  The  reason  why  they  have 
yielded  but  five  thousand,  ten  thousand,  and  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  is  because  they  have  not  been 
worked  any  length  of  time.  V  'hen  the  season  opens 
this  winter  it  will  be  found  that  they  will  hold  their 
own  with  those  that  have  been  so  extensively 
talked  and  written  about. 

I  believe  that  these  gulches  are  rich  from  source 
to  mouth,  though  no  doubt,  they  will  vary  some- 
what, as  it  is  hardly  probable  that  when  the  deposit 
was  made  by  nature,  she  distributed  the  wealth  with 
an  even  hand.  The  wages  paid  in  this  section  last 
winter  were  fully  equal  to  the  production  of  or- 
dinary placer  claims  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
The  standard  wages  were  fifteen  dollars  a  day,  and 
a  great  deal  of  the  help  thus  employed  had  had  but 
little  experience  in  work  of  the  nature  required  in 
this  region.  To  pay  a  man  who  had  never  swung 
an  ax,  wielded  a  pick,  used  a  gold  pan,  or  handled 
a  shovel  a  dollar  and  a  half  an  hour  was  at  least 
equal  to  paying  an  experienced  miner  double  that 
amount.  Therefore  the  expense  of  mining  in  that 
country  last  winter  was  at  least  three  times  the 
total  production  of  placer  mines  anywhere  else  on 
earth. 


H  A 


100     ENORMOUS  WAGES  PAID  FOR  HELP 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  every  man  who  reaches 
the  Klondyke  district  this  fall  will  be  able  to  obtain 
work  at  a  very  high  rate  of  pay.  The  standard  of 
wages  will  at  least  be  maintained,  as  there  are  very 
few  people  who  desire  to  remain  there  for  any 
length  of  time,  and  they  all  want  to  develop  their 
claims  as  rapidly  as  possible,  so  that  they  can  return 
to  civilization  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  labor, 
won  through  hardships,  privations  and  severe  toil. 

We  had  great  difficulty  in  procuring  help  at  all. 
We  offered  at  different  times  as  high  as  four  dollars 
an  hour  for  the  services  of  experienced  men,  but, 
as  a  rule,  old  miners  would  not  work  at  any  figure. 
We  could  occasionally  get  an  inexperienced  man  to 
work  a  few  days  at  fifteen  dollars  per  day.  We 
gave  a  "lay"  to  eight  men  who  worked  for  six 
weeks,  and  when  we  settled  it  came  out  that  they 
had  earned  in  that  length  of  time  forty-t\70  thou- 
sand four  hundred  dollars,  or  five  thousand  and 
three  hundred  dollars  each.  A  great  deal  of  labor 
thus  far  has  been  expended  on  what  is  called  "dead 
work."  By  "dead  work"  is  meant  work  for  which 
there  is  no  immediate  return,  such  as  sinking  shafts 
to  bed  rock  at  a  distance  of  about  twenty  feet 
through  the  frozen  ground,  building  cabins,  sluice- 
boxes,  furniture,  etc.;  and  in  building  dams  across 
the  stream  in  order  to  raise  the  water  into  the  sluice- 
boxes.  As  most  of  the  lumber  used  was  cut  by  the 
whip-saw,  it  can  be  seen  tHat  this  "dead  work"  oc- 
cupied a  great  deal  of  time.  The  greatest  part  of 
this  work,  however,  in  this  district,  has  been  done 


""W-l^^^ 


OTHER  RICH  CREEKS  AND  GULCHES      101 

and  the  coming  winter  will  be  entirely  spent  in 
taking  out  the  pay-dirt,  getting  it  ready  to  sluice  in 
the  sjM-ing;  so  the  out-put  next  year  will  be  very 
large. 

In  my  opinion,  Bear  Gulch  is  almost  another 
Eldorado.  There  are  two  supperposed  bed-rocks  in 
Bear  Gulch,  which  are  three  feet  apart.  The  gold 
in  the  upper  bed-rock  is  bright  and  resembles  that 
found  in  Eldorado,  while  on  the  lower  bed-rock 
it  is  very  black.  Last  Chance  Creek  is  also  very 
rich.  We  prospected  it  for  three  miles,  intending 
to  locate  a  discovery  claim,  but  we  could  not  tell 
the  best  place  to  locate.  Finally,  we  staked  Nos.  20 
and  21  above. 

Much  is  expected  of  Hunker  Gulch,  and  I  think 
it  will  prove  another  great  distiiv-t.  The  prospects 
made  on  Dominion  Creek  are  also  very  favorable, 
and  Indian  Creek  will  yield  a  large  amount  of  gold. 
Our  pans  will  average  three  dollars  throughout  all 
the  Eldorado  claims  and  I  think  we  will  find  our 
claims  on  Bear  Gulch  and  Last  Chance  equally  as 
rich.  I  took  from  five  pans  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  in  gold  and  did  not  pick  the  pans  either, 
but  simply  scooped  them  off  the  bed-rock. 

We  have  four  thousand  feet  in  the  Klondyke  and 
Hunker  districts.  We  have  never  cross-cut  the 
pay-streak  on  any  of  our  claims.  In  Eldorado,  we 
hold  Nos.  25  and  26,  53  and  54,  and  a  half  interest 
in  Nos.  24  and  32,  all  being  above  Discovery.  We 
also  own  No.  10  below  Discovery  on  Bear  Gulch 


102 


OUR  CLAIMS  WORTH  $16,875,000 


': 


■  i- 


and  Nos.  20  and  21  above  Discovery  on  Last 
Chance.  We  have  prospected  all  these  claims  and 
believe  them  to  be  just  as  rich  as  Nos.  25  and  26, 
Eldorado,  from  which  we  took  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars to  the  lineal  foot,  eight  feet  wide.  The  width 
of  the  pay  streak  on  our  claims  will  average  a  little 
more  than  three  hundred  feet,  and  if  they  all  main- 
tain the  richness  shown  by  the  work  we  did,  and 
the  prospects  made,  they  will  pay  out  sixteen  mil- 
lions, eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars. 

A  great  deal  of  this  gold  when  taken  out  will 
remain  in  circulation  in  the  district,  and  but  little 
will  be  sent  out.  When  it  does  make  its  appearance 
in  the  States  it  will  probably  be  accompanied  by 
its  owners.  A  medium  of  exchange  is  necessary  on 
the  Klondyke;  so  far,  as  nearly  all  transactions  are 
cash  transactions,  it  has  been  found  much  cheaper  to 
weigh  out  the  dust  than  to  ship  the  gold  to  the 
mint  and  have  the  coin  returned.  Then,  besides, 
nearly  everyone  who  goes  in,  will  need  a  little  money 
after  he  arrives  which  he  may  procure  by  buying 
exchange  from  the  trading  companies  in  Seattle  or 
San  Francisco,  and  when  he  reaches  Dawson  City 
he  will  receive  the  amount  of  the  bills  of  exchange 
in  gold-dust.  Thus  a  great  deal  of  the  dust  taken 
from  the  ground  will  remain  in  the  Yukon  country, 
as  t^e  circulating  medium,  while  the  coin  and 
currency  of  the  United  States  will  remain  in  the 
States;  though  credits  will  be  transferred  by  bills 


*' 


TRANSFER  OF  GOLD  DUST  AND  NUGGETS103 

of  exchange,  the  cost  of  v;hich  will  vary  according 
to  the  balance  of  trade.  Of  coUrse  dust  and  money 
will  sometimes  be  transported  to  even  up  the 
balances. 


'"'J 


mm^ 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


Inventive  Genius  Never  Had  a  Better  Field— To  Ex- 
tract the  Frost  From  the  Ground — Many  Grotesque 
Devices — How  They  Prospect  on  the  Yakon — 
Winter  and  Summer  Diggings — A  Nugget  of  $o20 
—Thawing  the  Fay-Streak--Sluicing  the  Gold. 


It  has  been  said  that  necessity  is  the  mother  of 
invention.  Truly  the  field  is  wide  enough  here  to 
give  full  scope  to  the  ingenuity  for  which  the  Amer- 
icans are  famed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  world.  To  increase  the  comforts  of  life  in  this 
frozen  land,  affords,  in  itself,  a  subject  that  will  not 
be  disregarded  by  inventive  mmds;  to  invent  a 
building  material  that  would  be  proof  against  the 
penetrating  cold  would  be  to  confer  a  blessing  upon 
the  residents  of  this  isolated  spot.  This  might  seem 
at  first  glance  to  be  impossible,  and  for  aught  we 
know,  may  never  be  realized,  but  the  field  of  inves- 
tigation is  certainly  as  great  and  the  prospect  of 
remuneration  as  good,  in  fact  the  inducement  is 
greater  to  invent  a  material  of.  this  kind,  than  to 
perfect  cloth  that  bullets  will  not  pierce. 

Again,  there  is  an  unlimited  field  for  some  mechan- 
ical genius  to  bring  forth  a  machine  or  appUance 
that  will  extract  the  frost  from  the  earth  with  less 
cost  and  labor  than  is  necessary  at  the  present  time. 
The  man  who  succeeds  in  doing  this  will  own  a 
mine  of  wealth,  greater  than  the  entire  Eldorado 

.  (104) 


MECHANICAL  GENIUS  WANTED 


105 


Creek ;  as  the  field  for  the  use  of  such  a  contrivance 
is  limited  only  by  the  North  Pole.  A  number  of 
devices  have  been  invented,  within  the  last  two 
months,  for  the  purpose  of  doing  this.  Two  in  par- 
ticular have  attracted  attention,  though  the  general 
verdict  of  Yukoners  is  that  they  are  not  practical 
and  will  be  worse  than  useless.  One  of  these  is  an 
ordinary  upright  boiler  with  a  steam  jet  that  is 
inserted  in  the  ground  and  the  escaping  steam  is 
supposed  to  melt  the  frost  from  the  earth.  A  hole 
is  first  drilled  and  the  jet  inserted,  the  steam  is  then 
turned  on  and  is  supposed  to  thaw  the  earth  for  a 
number  of  feet  around,  providing,  however,  that 
the  frost  in  the  earth  does  not  freeze  the  steam. 
Another  is  by  means  of  a  hot  air  jet.  The  air  is 
heated  and  then  blown  against  the  frozen  ground 
which  it  is  supposed  to  thaw.  It  is  generally 
thought  that  this  machine  will  prove  quite  a  money- 
maker, if  an  exception  is  made  of  it  by  the  climate, 
and  it  is  not  frozen  up  while  in  operation. 

None  of  these  devices  have  been  tested,  and  the 
chances  are  that  they  are  not  suited  to  the  work  it 
is  proposed  they  should  perform.  However,  if  one 
of  them  should  prove  a  success  it  will  cheapen  min- 
ing to  such  an  extent  that  most  of  the  mines  that 
have  been  abandoned  can  be  taken  up  again  and 
worked  at  a  profit. 

Several  companies  have  been  incorporated  who 
propose  to  operate  dredgers  in  the  Yukon  and  its 
tributaries.  It  is  intended  to  build  them  on  the 
Yukon  as  it  is  impossible  to  tow  them  north.    They 


MS-  'I 


'^ipl* 


106 


DREDGING  THE  YUKON 


will  be  constructed  with  considerable  freighting 
capacity  so  that  an  abundance  of  provisions  may  be 
taken  along  wherever  they  go.  Quarters  for  the 
crew  will  also  be  erected  aboard,  and  the  whole  wHl 
form  a  massive  workshop  and  home.  They  will  be 
put  to  work  there  in  the  streams,  dredging  the 
gravel  from  the  banks,  bars  and  bottoms,  and  hav- 
ing sluiced  the  gold  from  it,  will  drop  the  tailings 
back  into  the  water. 

The  rigorous  climate  will  be  a  great  difficulty  to 
overcome  as  it  will  be  impossible  to  work  more 
than  \hree  or  four  months  .n  the  year;  for  the 
rivers  are  frozen  over,  in  many  cases  solid,  during 
eight  or  nine  months  out  of  the  twelve.  All  this 
time  the  crew  will  probably  be  idle,  and  of  course 
must  necessarily  be  under  pay.  If  the  dirt  is  rich, 
however,  even  these  expenses  may  be  met  and  a 
rich  harvest  left  for  the  investors.  Practical  men 
seem  to  think  that  this  plan  will  be  a  success. 

Another  invention,  that  would  bring  its  author 
a  fortune,  is  a  contrivance  that  could  be  used  in 
prospecting.  This  would  have  to  be  very  light,  so 
light  in  fact  that  a  prospector  could  take  it  with 
him  wherever  he  went.  Prospecting  is  very  dif- 
ficult in  this  country,  since  to  discover  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  one  must  sink  a  hole  to  bed-rock, 
and  the  operation  usually  takes  from  two  to  six 
weeks  according  to  the  depth  of  the  gravel.  As 
there  Is  but  little  surface  indications  to  show  the 
nature  of  the  gravel  beneath,  it  must  all  be  removed 
and  tested  every  little  way  by  panning.    Frequently 


THE  DIFFICULTIES  OF  PROSPECTING   107 


it  occurs  that  the  deposits  of  gold-bearing-  gravel 
are  entirely  cover  ";d  with  water  during  the  summer 
season,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  prospect  it,  even 
though  the  ground  is  not  frozen.  In  fact  pr-^spect- 
ing  along  che  rivers  must  be  done  when  the  ground 
is  frozen,  as,  before  bed-rock  is  reached, the  water,  in 
the  summer  time,  will  soak  in  from  the  sides,  and 
the  gold,  if  there  be  any  in  the  gravel,  will  be 
washed  to  the  bottom,  and  keep  beyond  reach,  when 
the  gravel  is  disturbed,  until  stopped  by  bed-rock. 

In  prospecting  this  country,  the  only  practical 
method  is  to  select  the  ground  you  desire  to  pros- 
pect during  the  summer  months,  then,  in  winter, 
to  follow  up  your  summer's  work  by  sinking  shafts. 
This  is  done  by  building  fires  on  the  ground  and 
melting  the  frost  from  it.  The  Bonanza  Creek 
placers  were  struck  in  the  summer  time,  but  the 
prospect  hole  was  sunk  so  far  away  from  the  water 
that  it  was  only  by  chance  that  the  pay-streak  was 
found.  The  pay-streak  at  times  is  found  a  great  dis- 
tance from  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  to  make  a 
thorough,  systematic  prospect  of  a  section  entails 
much  arduous  labor.  Another  great  draw-back  is 
the  fact  that  the  trading  posts  are  so  few  that  the 
prospector  does  not  dare  to  get  far  into  the  inter- 
ior. He  is  obliged  to  remain  near  the  larger  rivers, 
where,  when  winter  approaches,  he  can  drift  down 
to  some  trading  post  where  he  can  procure  supplies. 
For  this  reason  most  of  the  diggings  that  have  beeii 
worked  thus  far  are  summer  diggings.  By  summer 
diggings,  we   mean   diggings   where   the   surface 


108 


WINTER  DIGGINGS 


gravel  is  removed  and  pay-streak  then  washed  out 
by  pans,  rockers,  or  sluices. 

But  few  winter  diggings  have  yet  been  discovered, 
but  where  they  have  been  found  they  proved  richer 
than  the  summer  diggings.  A  machine  of  the  char- 
acter above  mentioned  would  be  a  blessing  to  the 
prospectors  and  would  aid  them  greatly  in  bringing 
to  light  the  hidden  wealth  of  the  frozen  north. 

The  first  gold  in  what  has  sirje  become  known  as 
the  Klondyke  gold  fields  was  discovered,  as  stated 
above,  by  George  W.  McCormack,  August  15, 1896. 
It  is  what  is  known  in  miner's  parlance  as  coarse 
gold.  That  is,  it  is  in  nuggets  and  is  therefore  easily 
separated  from  the  dirt.  These  nuggets  range  in 
size  from  a  pin  point  to  those  weighing  several 
ounces,  The  largest  of  those  nuggets  that  had 
been  reported  found  when  I  left  the  district,  June 
19, 1897,  was  worth,  ac  seventeen  dollars  per  ounce, 
three  hundred  and  twenty  dollars.  It  was  found  by 
a  Frenchman  known  as  Antoine. 

The  gold  is  found  in  what  is  called  pay  streak,  or 
in  a  streak  of  gravel  about  three  feet  thick,  lying 
immediately  above  bed-rock,  which  is  located  about 
twenty  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth.  This 
gold  is  obtained  by  thawing  the  frost  from  the 
ground.  A  fire  is  built  on  top,  and  when  the  earth 
has  been  thawed  for  a  few  inches,  it  is  taken  om  and 
another  built.  This  is  continued  until  bed-rock  is 
reached  which  usually  takes 'eight  days.  Then  drift- 
ing is  commenced  by  means  of  fires  built  around 
the  bottom  of  the  hole  thus  made.    When  the  fires 


THAWING  THE  GROUND 


loe 


have  burned  out,  the  dirt  is  taken  to  the  surface  and 
deposited  on  a  "dump,"  from  where  it  is  taken  into 
the  cabin  and  panned  out  or  is  left  until  the  sun 
in  summer  thaws  it  out  again,  when  it  is  sluiced. 
Each  night  a  fire  is  set,  and  the  following  day  is 
occupied  by  removing  the  dirt  that  has  become 
loosened  and  in  preparing  wood  for  another  fire. 
The  pay  streak  only  is  thawed  out  and  removed  to 
the  surface,  When  the  drifts  have  been  run  so  far 
back  from  the  shafts  that  the  air  is  dead  and  there 
is  not  sufficient  draught  to  keep  the  fires  going, 
another  shaft  must  be  sunk  and  so,  day  after  day 
the  process  continues.  Wood,  happily,  is  quite  plen- 
tiful here,  though  the  timber  is  not  very  large.  A 
tree  that  will  cut  a  board  twelve  inches  wide  is  con- 
sidered a  large  one. 

In  the  winter  all  the  tributaries  of  the  Klondyke 
are  frozen  solid,  but  in  summer  they  thaw  out  and 
then  water  miy  be  had  for  sluicing.  Water  may 
be  taken  from  the  upper  side  of  the  claim  but  must 
be  turned  in  again  before  it  reaches  the  lower  side, 
so  that  those  who  are  working  below  may  have  the 
use  of  it.  It  is  usually  raised  to  the  bank  of  the 
stream  by  building  a  dam  and  is  then  led  by  sluice 
boxes  wherever  desired.  These  boxes  are  made  by 
fitting  boards  together.  One  end  is  generally  two 
inches  wider  and  one  inch  higher  than  the  other 
so  that  the  small  end  of  one  will  fit  into  the  large 
end  of  the  other.  They  are  made  of  lumber  one 
inch  in  thickness  and  twelve  inches  in  width,  and 
are  arranged  on  a  grade  ranging  from  eight  inches 


"^f" 


no 


THE  SLUICING  FROCESS 


■• 


to  the  box,  to  ten  inches  to  the  box,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  gold.  If  the  gold  is  either  very  fine  or 
very  coarse,  the  grade  must  be  steeper  than  where 
the  size  is  ordinary.  In  these  sluices  are  arranged 
rififles  which  are  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the 
precious  metal  while  the  dirt  and  gravel  is  carried 
on  to  the  end  of  the  sluice  by  the  water  and  is  then 
called  "tailings."  These  rififles  are  made  by  fasten- 
ing three  cross  pieces  together  by  rods  of  wood, 
which  are  passed  through  these  cross  piece  ^  about 
an  inch  apart  and  are  made  to  prevent  large  stones 
from  dropping  through  with  the  gold,  the  latter 
being  so  heavy  that  it  will  sink  to  the  bottom  even 
in  the  swiftest  current.  Water  is  turned  into  the 
sluice  box  and  the  pay  dirt  shoveled  in;  the  dirt 
mixes  with  the  water  and  is  carried  on  while  the 
gold  settles  into  these  riffles.  Every  few  days  the 
sluices  are  cleaned  up;  that  is,  the  gold  is  taken 
from  the  riffles  and  panned  out,  as  some  dirt  will 
lodge  with  it.  The  sluices  at  some  of  the  claims  of 
the  Klondyke  district  have  to  be  cleaned  two  and 
even  three  times  a  day,  as  there  is  so  much  gold  in 
the  dirt  that  the  riffles  fill  very  rapidly. 

Last  winter,  owing  to  the  necessities  of  the  miners 
and  the  desire  of  the  mine  ov/ners  to  pay  cash  for 
all  work  done,  a  gjeat  deal  of  gold  was  panned  out. 
We  would  take  a  bucket  of  pay-dirt  into  the  cabin 
every  night,  and  after  thawing  enough  ice  to  give 
us  the  amount  of  water  needed,  we  would  spend 
the  evenings  in  panning.    This  was  also  the  only 


PANNING  GOLD  TO  PAY  WAGES 


111 


means  of  testing  the  nature  of  the  gravel,  so  that  we 
should  know  that  the  dirt  we  were  bringing  out  and 
depositing  on  the  dump  was  really  pay-dirt ;  for  we 
could  not  afford,  when  sluicing  it  the  next  summer, 
to  find  out  that  it  did  not  contain  gold. 

These  river-claim  diggings  in  the  Klondyke  district 
are  essentially  winter  diggings,  as  the  pay-streak  is 
from  sixteen  to  twenty-five  feet  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  therefore,  it  is  much  easier  to  mine 
it  from  beneath,  than  it  would  be  to  remove  the 
barren  gravel. 

A  fire  properly  built  against  the  face  of  the  drift 
will  penetrate  from  eight  to  twelve  inches.  The 
wood  is  cut  about  four  feet  long  and  under  each 
tier  two  sticks  are  placed,  the  ends  butting  up 
against  the  face  of  the  drift,  and  thus  answer  the 
purpose  of  andirons  such  as  are  used  in  an  old- 
fashioned  fireplace.  The  wood  is  placed  on  these 
sticks  lengthwise  of  the  face  of  the  drift.  Then 
green  wood,  called  "lagging,"  is  set  on  end  to  cover 
the  fuel  underneath;  the  fire  is  started,  the  heat  and 
flame  coming  out  between  the  upper  ends  of  this 
lagging,  and  the  face  of  the  drift  thaws* the  earth 
above  this  pay-streak  for  a  distance  of  about  a  foot, 
when  it  falls  down  ovc-  the  lagging  burying  it  en- 
tirely, and  gives  the  fire  the  nature  of  a  pit  fire. 
When  the  fire  is  burned  out,  this  barren  gravel  is 
shoveled  back  and  the  pay-dirt  lifted  to  the  top  in 
buckets. 

In  summer  diggings,  the  method  is  entirely  differ- 


m 


M-  a 


PP"ili!PW*W^ 


113 


SUMMER  DIGGINGS 


cnt,  as  no  fire  is  used,  but  the  pay-dirt  is  sluiced, 
rocked  or  panned  after  being  loosened  by  the  rays 
of  the  sun.  In  ground  sluicing,  a  dam  is  built  in 
the  stream  and  the  water  raised  to  the  bar,  which  is 
led  on  to  the  ground  by  small  ditches  dug  about 
ten  feet  apart.  The  heat  of  the  sun  warms  this 
water  and  the  action  of  the  warm  water  and  sun 
combined  dissolves  the  black  muck,  which  is  nearly 
all  frost,  and  will  even  work  its  way  down  seven 
or  eight  feet,  the  muck  disappearing  all  the  time, 
though  it  does  not  run  off.  When  this  muck  has 
become  dissolved,  the  barren  gravel  on  the  top  of 
the  pay-dirt  is  taken  off.  Then  a  drain  is  sunk  to 
bed-rock,  it  being  sometimes  necessary  to  com- 
mence a  long  distance  down  the  stream,  in  order  to 
get  fall  enough  to  drain  the  water  from  the  bed-rock 
of  the  section  which  is  being  ground-sluiced.  It  is 
necessary  to  have  the  bottom  well  drained,  or  the 
gold  will  settle  through  the  pay-streak  and  lodge 
into  the  crevices  of  the  bed-rock  where  it  could  not 
be  reached  by  a  shovel.  When  this  is  done,  a  sluice 
is  put  in,  and  the  pay-dirt  shoveled  into  this  sluice 
wiicre  the  gold  is  washed  out,  lodging  in  the  rififles 
to  be  gathered  up  at  the  convenience  of  the  miner. 
Sometimes  these  sluices  are  erected  very  high  and 
frequently  it  is  necessary  to  build  a  platform  under- 
neath to  shovel  the  dirt  upon,  and  then  shovel  it  up 
into  the  sluice.  Where  the  bank  or  bar  is  so  high 
that  water  cannot  be  led  on,  the  barren  ground  is 
wheeled  off,  the  pay-dirt  carried  to  the  stream  and. 


SUMMER  DIGGINGS 


113 


the  gold  taken  out  by  means  of  a  pan  or  rocker. 
This  is  a  slow  process,  however,  and  unless  the 
gravel  is  very  rich,  it  will  not  pay,  at  least  while 
wages  remain  at  fifteen  dollars  per  day. 


w^^ 


mm 


'mm 


''mmm 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Definitions  of  the  Canadian  Miniiig  Laws— ''Bar  Dig- 
gings;" "Dry  Diggings;"  "Creek  and  Biver 
Claims;"  "Beach  Claims" — ^The  "Representative 
Season" — Hew  to  Live  There — Dreary  Winters — 
Hungry  Summer  Pests — The  Dog  Again:  the  Most 
Precious  Friend  of  the  Klondyker — Salmon  Their 
Food. 

The  region  is  covered  with  moss  which  is  from 
six  inches  to  two  feet  in  thickness.  In  the  summer, 
the  frost  thaws  from  the  moss  and  becomes  very 
soft  and  spongy,  making  travel  over  it  almost  im- 
possible. 

Placer  claims  under  the  Canadian  laws  are  di- 
vided into  four  classes:  Bar  Diggings,  Dry  Dig- 
gings, Creek  and  River  Claims  and  Beach  Claims. 

A  Creek  and  River  Claim  is  five  hundred  feet 
lengthwise  along  the  stream  and  extends  from  river- 
rock  to  river-rock,  that  is,  across  the  entire  deposit 
of  gravel.  Where  the  deposit  is  not  one  hundred 
feet  in  width  the  claim  extends  up  the  bank  thirty 
feet  above  water  level  or  as  much  thereof  as  is 
necessary  to  make  it  one  hundred  feet  wide. 

If,  when  a  survey  is  made,  it  is  found  that  any 
of  the  claims  so  staked  is  more  than  five  hundred 
feet  in  length,  the  fraction  over  such  length  may 
be  staked  by  the  first  man  that  gets  there.  If  it 
is  found  that  a  claim  is  short,  however,  the  miner 
cannot  claim  the  balance,  as  the  moving  of  a  stake 

(114) 


a 
o 

M 

n 


5 


H 


'  WP.W 


■« 1 


^np 


^«i 


RHP 


;  :■ 


:..  i 


.nwij^fi 


"BAR  DIGGINGS" 


116 


by  the  locator  or  his  agent  after  a  claim  has  been 
recorded,  would  result  in  its  forfeiture. 

By  Bar  Diggings,  the  Canadian  mining  law 
means  such  part  of  a  river  as  is  dry  in  low  water 
but  flooded  when  the  water  is  high,  and  such  a 
claim  is  to  be  one  hundred  feet  wide  at  high  water 
mark,  and  extend  along  into  the  river  to  the  edge 
of  the  water  at  its  lowest  level. 

Dry  Diggings  are  one  hundred  feet  square  and 
are  located  on  such  land  over  which  the  water  does 
not  flow  even  at  its  highest. 

Beach  Claims  also  are  one  hundred  feet  square 
and  are  located  on  beaches.  In  staking  a  claim,  a 
prospector  must  drive  stakes  at  each  corner.  These 
stakes  must  be  at  least  four  feet  high  and  squared 
on  four  sides,  the  surface  being  not  less  than  four 
inches  wide. 

On  one  of  these  stakes  must  be  written  the  name 
of  the  claimant  and  the  date  on  which  the  claim 
was  staked,  also  the  words>  "I  demand  one  hundred 
feet  square  for  mining  purposes."  After  staking 
a  claim,  but  three  days  are  allowed  in  which  to 
record  it.  If  the  office  of  the  commissioner  is  more 
than  ten  miles  oflF,  however,  an  extra  day  is  al- 
lowed for  each  ten  miles  or  fraction  thereof. 

The  applicant  for  a  grant  must  take  oath  that  he 
has  prospected  the  ground  and  has  found  mineral, 
other  than  coal  upon  it,  and  that  he  has  staked  it  in 
person,  giving  a  sketch  of  it  and  a  description  of  the 
location.  But  one  claim  in  a  district  can  be  held  by 
the  same  miner,  unless  acquired  by  right  of  pur- 


ii 


Pi 
1 

if 

(b5 

w 


1.! 


r 
1 

f 

t  . 


i 


RECORDING  FEES,  ETC. 

chase  or  gift.  He  may  hold  claims  in  other  dis- 
tricts. However,  if  the  stakes  are  pulled  out  and  a 
relinquishment  filed,  it  gives  him  a  right  to  make 
another  location  in  the  same  diistrict. 

The  fee  charged  for  recording  is  $15,  which  en- 
titles the  applicant  to  the  privilege  of  mining  for 
the  period  of  one  year.  At  the  end  of  the  year  he 
rr.ust  pay  to  the  commissioner  one  hundred  dollars 
more  and  that  secures  him  this  right  for  another  year. 
Each  year  thereafter  this  one  hundred  dollars  must 
be  promptly  paid  and  in  addition  the  miner  must 
work  the  claim  during  the  "representative  season." 
During  that  period  of  the  year,  he  is  not  allowed 
away  from  it  for  a  greater  period  than  "seventy- 
two  hours,"  without  the  consent  of  the  Commis- 
sioner, unless  such  an  absence  becomes  necessary 
through  sickness,  or  the  miner  goes  away  to  re- 
plenish his  stock  of  provisions. 

The  "representative  season*'  is  determined  by 
the  Commissioner  who  usually  consults  the  miners 
before  tixing  it.  It  may  be  any  portion  of  the  year 
or  any  length  of  time,  usually  thirty,  sixty  or  ninety 
days.  If  a  miner  is  not  represented  during  this  time 
either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  his  claim  to  his 
location  is  considered  abandoned. 

A  claim  may  be  transferred,  assigned  or  mort- 
gaged, and  such  transfer,  assignment,  oi-  mortgage 
will  hold  good,  provided  it  is  recorded  with  the  Com- 
missioner. 

The  surface  rights  are  not  O'btained  from  the 
Crown,  with  the  mining  grant,  and  if  the  regulations 


COST  OF  PLACER  MINING 


117 


are  not  complied  with,  all  rights  revert  to  Her 
Majesty. 

Rockers  are  sometimes  used,  particularly  where 
it  is  hard  to  get  water-  This,  however,  is  a  slow 
process  and  dirt  must  be  quite  rich  in  order  to  be 
worked  at  a  profit  in  this  wise. 

The  Yukon  placers  are  perhaps  the  most  expen- 
sive in  the  world  to  work,  particularly  is  this  true 
of  the  Klondyk.^  district.  Everything  used  must 
be  transported  a  distance  of  nearly  two  thousand 
miles  from  Seattle,  the  nearest  outfitting  point, 
over  a  rough  trail,  and  down  a  river  filled  with 
rocks  and  rapids,  where  a  large  percentage  of  the 
goods  are  lost  in  transit;  or  transferred  by  steamer 
over  five  thousand  miles  through  dangerous  waters. 
Nothing  can  be  had  by  the  way  and  the  climate  is 
so  rigorous  that  even  the  comforts  of  life  cannot  be 
secured,  and  luxuries  are  unheard  of.  The  bare 
necessaries  alone  can  be  obtained  and  these  even  are 
sometimes  scarce  and  of  poor  quality,  being  fre- 
quently damaged  enroute,  or  spoiled,  not  badly 
enough  however  to  be  utterly  useless,  for  nothing 
is  ever  thrown  away  he'-e.  It  must  be  bad  indeed  if 
there  is  no  market  fof  it  in  this  region  of  ice,  snow 
and  mosquitoes,  and  even  were  it  worthless  for  man's 
use,  the  dogs  consider  every  morsel  they  can  digest 
palatable  enough  and  look  upon  it  as  a  lu>.ury. 
They  must  be  fed  too  as  they  are  the  miner's  best 
friends. 

The  Bonanza  Creek  mines  are  situated  about 
thirty  miles  from  Dawson  City  and  everything  must 


II 


*» 


m 


■1 


'■\ 


) 


'I 


ilk. 


118 


THE  BONANZA  Cx<EEK  MINES 


be  packed  or  hauled  in  over  this  distance.  It  is 
comparatively  easy  when  the  snow  is  frozen,  as  a 
single  dog  can  then  haul  two  hundred  pounds. 
Ii»  the  summer  time,  however,  when  the  frcst  is  out 
of  the  moss,  it  is  very  spongy  and  supplies  c^*^  be 
gotten  only  by  packing.  This  is  difncult  »■•'•<•;  -  -i* 
pensive  as  at  every  step  a  mar  takes,  ^e  sinks  ahuost 
to  his  knees  in  thi;>  fluffy  vegetation.  It  costs  from 
one  to  two  centb  per  pound  per  mile  to  have  supplies 
transported  over  this  trail. 

In  this  frozen  country  the  appetite  is  good  and 
food  of  the  most  common  kind  is  taten  with  a  relish. 
Every  one  is  hard  at  work,  and  as  there  are  no  soft 
jobs  about  these  camps,  there  is  very  little  use  for 
appetizers  and  tonics. 

The  first  thing  to  be  looked  after  when  reaching 
this  strange  land  is  to  build  a  cabin,  sometimes 
called  a  house.  The  usual  method  is  to  build  it  out 
of  logs  and  moss.  The  trees  are  fallen  and  cut  into 
the  desired  length  and  should  be  hewn  flat,  or 
faced  on  two  sides,  so  that  in  placing  them  one  upon 
another  the  surface  of  the  logs  will  match.  Between 
these  is  placed  a  layer  of  several  inch  '  if  mos" 
The  weight  of  the  logs  resting  upon  tins  maKes  it  .^ 
compact  that  it  is  even  less  porouii  than  the  timber 
itself.  In  this  way  the  cracks  are  chinked  up,  and 
the  cabin  forms  a  desirable  ^JlOlCCrtiOlJl  against  the 
Weather.    . 

The  winters  here  are  very  dark  and  cold.  Eight- 
een hours  of  darkness  and  six  hours  of  faint  twi- 
light is  the  rule.     In  summer,  however,  this  is 


am 


*'j-  »rjy_-  ■  -' 


EXTREME  TEMPERATURE 


119 


reversed  and  eighteen  hours  of  sunf.hine  takes  the 
place  of  the  darkness.  This  is  also  true  of  the  tr-m- 
perature.  In  winter,  forty  degrees  below  zero  is  the 
usual  temperature,  but  frequently  the  thermometer 
will  freeze  solid  after  registering  seventy  degrees 
below.  In  the  summer  ninety  degrees  above  is 
common,  the  difference  between  the  extremes  being 
160  degrees.  In  summer,  the  atmosphere  is  liter- 
ally thickened  with  gnats  and  mosquitoes.  These 
little  pests  are  unusually  hungry  and  I'f  care  be  not 
taken  one  is  liable  to  be  w:;ll  nigh  devoured  by 
them.  Plenty  of  mosquito  netting  and  heavy  mesh 
veiling  should  be  found  in  every  outfit. 

In  this  region,  frost  penetrates  the  earth  to  a 
great  depth;  in  fact  no  one  has  ever  succeeded  in 
finding  the  bottom.  In  Siberia  a  hole  was  dug 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  as  an  experiment 
but  there  were  no  signs  of  reaching  the  bottom  of 
the  frost,  even  at  that  depth. 

The  snew  is  of  i  different  character  from  that 
which  falls  u:  the  States.  It  is  more  like  frost  and 
is  very  fine.  It  settles  to  the  ground  very  slowly, 
being  so  light,  and  does  not  pack.  Though  the 
average  is  but  two  feet  six  inches  in  depth  it  is  im- 
possible to  wade  through  it.  Snow  shoes  are  used 
at  the  fall  of  the  year  and  circulation  is  by  this 
means  rendered  less  difficult.  The  snow  shoes  are 
made  by  passing  broad  thongs  through  a  hooplike 
piece  of  wood  and  thus  forming  a  broad  surface. 
These  are  attached  to  the  moccasins  as  shoes  would 
be,  and  have  the  effect  of  distributing  the  weight 


If 


^m 

w 


120 


SNOW,  SNOW  :iHOES  AND  DOGS 


\>&f^" 


of  the  person  over  so  extensive  a  surface  that  the 
wearer  sinks  but  little  in  the  soft,  fflufly  snow. 

'^Ti-^n  the  snow  freezes  and  forms  a  crust,  travel- 
ifij^  .rland  becomes  easy.  A  native  dog  can  haul 
a  sledge  with  two  hundred  pounds  on  it  across 
almost  any  portion  of  the  country.  The  prospect- 
or's dog  is  his  best  friend  and  will  stick  to  him  even 
though  rations  are  served  but  semi-weekly.  The 
native  dogs  are  the  best,  as  they  have  a  woolly 
coat  that  protects  them  from  the  weather.  They 
can  lie  out  of  doors  without  suffering  from  tl:e 
cold,  even  when  the  thermometer  is  sixty  below 
zero.  Throw  to  one  of  these  a  fish  each  day  and  he 
is  ready  for  work.  When  salmon  is  scarce,  a  good 
meal  twice  a  week  will  keep  the  dog  alive.  These 
dogs  are  perhaps  the  most  useful  an'mal  a  miner 
can  have,  so  little  will  keep  them  and  so  ready  for 
service  are  they  always,  seldom  sick  or  moping.  At 
times,  however,  they  are  stubborn  and  have  to  be 
punished,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  ready  to  do  the 
bidding  of  their  masters.  Unlike  our  canines,  they 
soon  learn  to  know  their  owner,  for  here  in  this 
region  of  scarcity,  a  dog  is  never  fed  by  another.  To 
feed  him  a  few  times  is  equal  to  having  him  taught 
the  bill  of  sale  and,  like  the  poor,  he  is  always  with 
you. 

Frequently  a  prospector  is  caught  out  in  a  storm 
with  no  abode  except  a  tent  which  is  but  little  pro- 
tection against  the  wind  and  frost.  In  a  great  many 
instances  they  might  have  perished  from  the  cold 
had  it  not  been  for  these  faithful  animals.  The  golc? 


TllE  FAITHFUL  DOGGIES 


181 


hunters  will  wrap  themselves  in  blankets  and  furs  and, 
for  additional  warmth,  draw  their  dogs  around  them 
and  thus  huddled  together  will  weather  out  the 
blizzard  and  come  out  but  little  the  worse  for  the 
intense  cold. 

In  traveling  over  the  ice  and  cold  the  dog's  feet 
are  fre^quently  lacerated  and  at  times  become  so  bad 
that  the  poor  animal  will  whine  with  pain  and  re- 
fuse to  stand.  In  such  cases  moccasins  are  bound 
on,  and  the  dog  with  his  feet  thus  protected  will 
Hck  your  hand  with  gratitude  and  will  thereafter  be 
a  docile  brute.  These  moccasins  are  made  from 
fUr  and  are  an  ample  protection  against  the  sharp 
particles  of  ice  and  snow. 

These  dogs,  however,  are  of  a  thievish  disposi- 
tion, and  will  steal  anything  they  can.  They  will 
even  open  boxes  and  have  been  known  to  gnaw  a 
hole  through  a  canvas  sack  in  order  to  get  at 
something  palatable.  They  do  not  mince  over  their 
viands  and  are  not  dainty  in  their  tastes,  but  will 
steal  anything  that  is  "illen."  This  is  caused  per- 
haps by  the  fact  that  tliey  seldom  get  enough  to 
eat;  but,  even  if  they  did,  this  shortcoming  seems 
to  be  a  part  of  their  natures,  having  been  bred  into 
them  since  the  time  "the  memory  of  man  runneth 
not  to  the  contrary." 

The  usual  market  price  for  one  of  these  noble 
animals  is  six  ounces  of  dust,  though  at  times  they 
bring  as  much  as  fifteen  ounces  or  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars. 

Their  thick  woolly  coats  furnish  vermin  with  a 


p. 


m 


i   ' 
,1   I 


Wrl 


r 


£ 


liriK 


123 


THE  FAITHFUL  DOGGIES 


I 


warm  residence  which  they  are  loathe  to  leave  dur- 
ing the  winter  months,  but  when  summer  comes 
they  scamper  out  and  make  Hfe  interesting  for  the 
hupian  family  as  well. 

During  the  stampede  to  the  Klondyke  dogs  were 
in  great  demand;  even  now  it  is  hard  to  find  one 
for  sale  'uv  that  district.  They  are  usually  fed  on 
fish,  but  during  the  winter  of  1896,  fish  was  so 
scarce  along  the  Yukon  that  the  miners  were  ob- 
liged to  share  their  supplies  with  the  dogs,  and  that 
came  near  bringing  on  a  famine. 

Usually  the  Big  River  and  its  tributaries  teem 
with  fish,  but,  for  some  unknown  reason,  the  salmon 
did  not  run  up  these  rivers  last  year  and  the  miners 
and  the  natives  were  denied  this  valuable  source  of 
supply.  Animals  and  men  had  to  depend  entirely 
upon  provisions  brought  up  the  river  by  the  boats 
of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  and  the  North 
Pacific  Transportation  and  Trading  Company. 

Salmon  and  a  species  of  white  fish  are  the  prin- 
cipal varieties  found  in  those  wafers,  though  there 
are  others.  Fish  is  a  most  important  part  of  the 
food  supply  of  this  region  and  therefore  were  badly 
missed  by  man  and  beast.  Salmon  are  very  large 
and  frequently  weigh  as  much  as  a  man.  They  are 
caught  in  nets,  traps  and  with  spears.  Sometimes 
a  rifle  can  be  used  to  great  advantage  by  shooting 
them  in  the  head  when  they  jump  from  the  water. 
As  they  will  float  when  killed  no  trouble  is  ex- 
perienced in  securing  them.  The  Klondyke  River 
is  usually  a  favorite  stream  with  them,  but,  like  the 


SALMON,  THE  STAFF  OF  LIFE 


123 


Yukon  and  its  other  tributaries,  they  did  not  visit 
it  last  year. 

Many  canneries  have  been  established  in  Alaska, 
particularly  on  the  rivers  flowing  into  Behring  Sea. 
One  river  there  is  called  the  "River  of  Life,"  be- 
cause in  the  salinon  season  it  is  actually  alive  with 
them. 


li 


-  I'j 


'i'i 


'■ 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Geological  Formation  of  the  Gold  Bearing  District — 
Where  Is  the  Mother-Lode — Quartz  Croppings— 
"Quartz-Grinding"  Glaciers — Antediluvian  Skele- 
ton Galore. 

The  formation  of  the  gold-bearing  districts  of  the 
Yulcon  country  has  been  a  subject  of  much  specula- 
tion by  experts  and  mineralogists.  There  have  been 
so  many  different  theories  advanced  concerning  it, 
that  one  is  lead  to  believe  that  even  those  who 
make  a  specialty  of  these  matters  know  but  little 
about  the  formations  here.  For  my  part  I  do  not 
know  how  or  when  or  by  what  means  this  gold  was 
placed  there.  But  I  do  know  that  it  is  there  in 
large  quantities. 

The  formation  of  the  ground  and  stones  differs 
materially  from  that  of  any  other  placer  district  I 
am  acquainted  with.  Quartz  ledges  are  found  in 
nearly  every  part  of  Alaska  and  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory, particularly  on  the  coast,  on  the  Yukon  River 
near  the  Klondyke,  on  the  Stewart,  on  the  Tananah 
River,  and  I  beHeve  that  the  mother-lode  will  be 
discovered  within  a  few  years.  Some  are  of  the 
opinion  that  this  lode  is  in  Alaska  and  not  in  Brit- 
ish Territory.  To  them,  the  placers  of  the  Klon- 
dyke indicate  this,  as  Forty  Mile  and  Sixty  Mile 
Creeks  are  both  heavy  in  placer  gold,  which  leads 
them  to  believe  that  the  quartz  source  is  not  far 
away.   They  think  that  the  British  Colu   via  placers 

(124) 


THE  MOTHER  LODE  SOON  IN  SIGHT       125 

are  but  out-croppings  of  the  Alaska  fountain-head. 
Some  do  not  wonder  that  the  rich  quartz  deposits 
have  not  been  found,  because  the  miners  have  only 
followed  the  river  course  and  have  not  ventured 
far  back  into  the  mountains. 

Quartz  croppings  may  be  found  all  over  the  in- 
terior, but  it  is  impossible  to  trace  them  on  account 
of  the  heavy  growth  of  moss,  which  covers  the 
ground  in  all  directions  and  even  extends  far  up 
the  mountain  sides.  When  the  mother-ledge  is  dis- 
covered, it  will  probably  be  by  accident,  as  no  in- 
dication can  be  followed  very  far  under  the  present 
circumstances  and  difficulties. 

The  nuggets  throughout  the  entire  district  carry 
quartz  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  gold 
has  at  some  time  formed  a  part  of  a  great  lode.  The 
indications  are  that  these  gold  and  gravel  have  not 
been  carried  any  great  distance  by  water  and  it  may 
be  that  when  the  ledge  is  found,  it  will  be  through 
the  agency  of  these  nuggets.  A  sharp  lookout  is 
being  kept  for  some  sign  to  indicate  where  the 
original  location  of  these  rich  deposits  was  before 
the  elements  or  some  force  of  nature  carried  it  away 
and  deposited  it  into  the  bottoms  of  the  rivers. 
Some  mineralogists  contend  that  this  gold  has  been 
ground  out  of  the  quartz  by  the  pressure  of  the 
glaciers,  which  lie  ^.nd  move  along  the  courses  of 
the  streams  exerting  a  tremendous  pressure ;  and  as 
this  force  is  present  to  a  more  appreciable  extent 
in  Alaska  than  elsewhere,  they  also  believe  that 
more  placer  gold  will  be  found  in  that  region  than 


126 


GOLD  QUARTZ  GROUND 


in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  They  strongly  ad- 
vise the  prospectors  to  investigate  the  small  streams 
instead  of  the  large  ones,  as  their  theory  is  that 
when  gold  is  precipitated  it  sinks,  and  does  not  float 
down  the  streams  very  far;  on  that  account  they 
assert  that  richer  finds  will  be  made  on  the  American 
side  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty-first  meridian 
than  have  been  made  in  the  Northwest  Territory. 

Another  theory  is  that  the  gold  has  been  worn 
loose  from  the  lode  by  the  action  of  the  streams, 
which  cut  through  the  mountains  and  probably 
have  done  so  for  centuries,  wearing  them  down, 
several  hundred  feet  washing  out  the  gold  into  the 
beds  and  gravel. 

Still  another  theory  is  that  it  does  not  necessarily 
follow  that  where  placers  are  found  a  rich  lode  still 
exists,  as  the  deposit  may  be  the  accumulations 
from  a  larg^  amount  of  low  grade  ore,  and  not 
from  a  small  amount  of  rich  ore,  as  is  commonly 
supposed.  It  is  more  probable  that  the  small  par- 
ticles have  been  ground  out  and  undergone  a  cold 
weld,  and  it  is  now  conceded  that  small  particles 
of  gold,  traveling  along,  down  water  crevices,  will 
congeal  and  form  into  nuggets.  If  the  grade  of 
the  stream  be  but  little  better  than  flat,  large  accu- 
mulations of  sand,  gravel  and  rock  will  gather  with 
the  gold,  which  will  greatly  reduce  the  value  of  the 
deposit  per  cubic  yard,  whereas,  if  the  current  is 
rapid  enough  on  account  of  the  heavier  fall  per 
mile,  a  large  portion  of  this  sand  and  gravel  will 
be  carried  away.    Gold  may  have  thus  accumulated 


J^v. 


GOLD  QUARTZ  VEINS 


1S7 


on  the  bed-rock,  and  then  the  flow  having  dimin- 
ished, large  accumulations  of  poorer  gravel  settled 
upon  it  by  reason  of  the  diminished  rapidity  of  the 
current.  The  bed-rock  where  these  rich  deposits 
are  found  is  usually  rough  and  full  of  pockets. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  general  indications 
with  which  all  placer  miners  become  familiar. 
Among  those  generalizations  may  be  noted  that  in 
a  gold-bearing  region  nearly  all  the  rocks  carry 
more  or  less  gold;  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  have 
quartz  veins  to  produce  placers;  that  a  country  in 
which  there  is  a  combination  of  volcanic  and  non- 
eruptive  rock  offers  the  greatest  inducement  to  the 
prospector;  that  regions  in  which  there  are  large 
gold-bearing  quartz  veins  may  afford  gulches  with 
very  rich  spots;  that  a  country  with  innumerable 
small  streams  inay  furnish  gulches  of  much  more 
uniform  and  extensive  value. 

The  formation  in  this  district  differs  widely  from 
other  gold  sections;  it  is  >  ava,  white  and  grey 
sand,  lime-stone  and  no  slate;  in  fact  there  is  noth- 
ing in  it  to  indicate  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
countless  millions  that  are  buried  in  the  gulches. 

For  my  part,  I  differ  from  the  theories  advanced 
by  many  of  the  leading  scientists.  I  am  aware  that 
this  is  presumptuous  on  my  part,  but  to  me,  the 
surroundings  indicate  that  this  country,  at  one  time, 
was  in  the  tropical  zone,  or  at  least,  that  the  cli- 
mate there  was  at  some  remote  period,  tropical  and 
not  frigid,  as  is  now  the  case;  and  that  the  gold 
was  dislodged  from  the  lode  by  extreme  heat  as  well 


n 


128 


THE  AUTHOR'S  OWN  THEORY 


as  later,  by  extreme  cold.  I  base  this  theory  upon 
the  fact  that  bones  and  teeth,  and  even  whole  car- 
casses of  animals  peculiar  to  the  torrid  zone  are 
frequently  found.  At  Troublesome  Point  the  skel- 
eton of  a  mammoth  was  found  in  such  a  state  of 
preservat'on  that  when  unearthed  and  warmed  in 
the  sun's  rays,  it  gave  oflf  an  odor  as  of  an  animal 
recently  dead.  This  carcass  was  found  but  thirty- 
six  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth.  Sections 
of  the  skeletons  of  mastodons  are  found  on  the 
bed-rock  in  all  parts  of  the  Yukon  valley  and  even 
high  up  into  the  mountains,  and  the  teeth  of  both 
these  animals  are  held  as  relics  by  many  miners. 
In  brief,  my  opinion  is  that  these  deposits  were 
made  in  the  animal  age  and  the  gold  ground  from 
the  ledges  by  the  action  of  the  water  and  the  cli- 
mate, and  that  at  that  time  the  climate  was  trop- 
ical. I  cannot  understand  how  these  deposits  could 
have  been  made  at  a  time  when  the  earth  was 
frozen,  as  it  is  at  the  present  time,  and  it  seems  to 
me  that  the  absence  of  glaciers  from  the  Yukon 
valley  explodes  the  glacier  theory.  The  time  may 
have  been  when  glaciers  existed  here,  but  as  the 
evidence  of  the  climate  at  one  time  having  been 
tropical  are  so  pronounced  and  the  evidences  of 
there  having  been  glaciers  entirely  absent,  I  will 
hold  to  my  belief  until  some  reasonable  foundation 
of  the  glacier  theory  is  produced. 


.1 


CHAPTER  XV. 

One  Winter's  Work:  $224,000  in  Gold  Dust  and  Nug- 
gets— I  prepare  to  go  home — "Hotel  De  Bum" — 
Half  a  Million  Dollars  in  Buckskin  Sacks— Five 
Gallon  Oil  Cans  Filled  with  Gold— A  Woman. 
Prospector  Worth  $250,000. 

The  reader  woul  hardly  be  entertained,  by  every 
detail  of  our  camp  life.  We  lived  just  as  others 
around  the  district  did,  an  J  nothing  occurred,  dur- 
ing our  stay  at  the  mines,  that  was  out  of  the 
ordinary  for  that  country. 

In  the  spring  we  built  sluice  boxes  from  the  logs 
that  we  had  cut  and  hauled,  which  we  had  whip- 
sawed  into  lumber,  as  lumber  at  the  saw-mill  at 
Dawson  City,  was  worth  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
per  thousand  feet,  and  hard  to  get  at  that.  Men 
stood  ready  to  take  each  board  as  it  came  from  the 
saw,  and  had  we  depended  on  this,  the  season  might 
have  passed  before  we  were  enabled  to  erect  our 
sluice.  We  sluiced  out  one  hundred  and  twelve 
thousand  dollars  worth;  we  had  panned  out  and 
picked  up  in  nuggets,  during  the  winter,  nearly  as 
much  more.  One  nugget  of  about  a  hundred  dol- 
lars, had  been  thrown  on  the  rock  pile,  but  was 
discovered  by  one  of  our  employes. 

We  decided  that  two  of  us  would  return  again 
to  civilization  and  come  back  the  following  spring 
to  relieve  the  others.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  myself 
and  Gage  Worden,  to  make  the  first  trip,  and  so 

029) . 


f 


'    1 


i ) 


m 


.■  it  I 


130 


SLUICED  OUT  $112,000 


f  ! 


accompanied  by  the  other  boys,  we  left  for  Daw-* 
son  City,  where  we  intended  to  take  passage  for 
Seattle.  The  r>'er  boat  was  late  and  we  had  to  re- 
main at  Dawson  City  for  some  time.  While  here, 
we  built  a  cabin  which  we  called  "Hotel  de  Bum. ;" 
this  became  the  headquarters  for  eight  of  the  boys 
who  were  coming  out  by  the  same  boat.  Between  the 
eight  of  us  we  had  over  five  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  gold  dust,  which  was  securely  done  up  in  buck- 
skin sacks,  there  being  about  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  in  each  sack.  These  sacks  were  ranked  up 
inside  our  cabin,  and  resenxbled  a  pile  of  stove  wood, 
as  the  sacks  are  long  and  narrow.  These  sacks  are 
made  of  buckskin,  and  cost  five  dollars  each  at 
Dawscn  City.  Notvithstanding  the  confidence  that 
exists  among  miners,  and  which  had  been  neces- 
sary at  the  camp,  we  did  not  trust  tlie  people  at 
Dawson  City,  as  all  the  tough  elem*^nt  of  Alaska 
and  the  Yukon  country,  had  by  this  time  arrived; 
so  we  took  turns  about  in  guarding  our  wealth. 
Four  of  us  M^ere  on  duty  all  the  time  with  Win- 
chesters, while  the  others  araused  themf>.eives  by 
jtrolling  about  the  town. 

During  the  winter  and  early  spring,  a  number  of 
the  worst  element  had  been  disposed  of  by  the  vigil- 
ance committee.  No  one  ever  knew  v.rhat  became  of 
them,  for  they  simply  disappeared,  having  dropped 
the  t-ail  of  Hfe  suddenly,  and  the  chances  are  that 
even  their  relatives  will  never  be  able  to  trace  theni 
beyond  a  period  when  they  were  full  of  life  aird 
hope.    These  examples  had  the  desired  effect,  axid 


I 


STOPPING  AT  "HOTEL  DE  BUM." 


m 


I  believe,  that,  after  all,  our  untiring  vigil  was  un- 
necessary. 

In  one  cabin,  I  saw  five  five-gallon  coal  oil  cans 
filled  with  the  precious  metal;  they  were  the  accu- 
mulations of  five  men  and  made  the  greatest  dis- 
play of  gold  dust  I  had  ever  witnessed.  Finally  on 
the  17th  day  of  June,  we  took  passage  on  the  "Port- 
eous  B.  Weare,"  and  bidding  goodbye  to  the  boys 
staited  down  the  Yukon,  bound  for  home  and  civil- 
ization. 

While  waiting  for  the  steamer  at  the  "Hotel  de 
Bum,"  I  met  a  Mrs.  Mills  of  Tacoma,  who,  a  few 
weeks  ago,  was  a  poor  woman,  but  at  the  present 
time  is  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

Asking  her  to  tell  me  of  her  experiences  in  this 
cold  and  far-away  country,  she  replied  in  the  follow- 
ing words: 

"Two  years  ago,  T  decided  to  try  my  luck  among 
the  r::st  of  the  people  who  were  leaving  for  this 
frozen  land.  My  nusband  is  a  blacksmith  by  occu- 
pation, but  being  a  great  sufferer  from  rheumatism, 
had  been  unable  to  work  at  his  trade  for  a  long 
time.  When  I  left  I  was  alone,  and  said  that  I 
would  not  return  until  I  had  made  a  fortune. 

"After  two  years  of  prospecting,  and  just  when 
my  spirit  and  fortune  were  at  their  lowest  ebb,  I 
heard  the  report  that  a  great  strike  had  been  made 
on  the  Klondyke.  Joining  a  party  of  cattlemen, 
bound  that  way,  I  hurried  to  the  new  Eldorado, 


is  ■' 


M^l 


# 


132 


MRS.  MILLS'  NARRATIVE 


staked  a  claim  and  have  realized  more  than  two 
himdred  thousand  dollars  from  it. 

"Not  being  satisfied  with  this,  I  established  a 
laundry  here  and  was  the  first  to  introduce  the 
'boiled  shirt'  among  the  miners.  Although  I  am 
compelled  to  pay  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for 
a  box  of  starch,  I  am  doing  a  splendid  business.  I 
give  an  Indian  squaw  who  works  in  the  laundry 
four  dollars  a  day  and  expenses;  the  log  cabin  in 
which  I  do  my  work  I  rent  for  thirty-five  dollars 
a  month.  Fuel  costs  me  nearly  five  hundred  dollars 
a  year. 

"Before  fortune  favored  me  so  nicely,  I  worked 
for  the  mess  of  the  Aiaaka  Commercial  Company 
here.  Efforts  have  hv.en  made  to  steal  my  claim, 
but  I  have  gone  for  it  through  suffering  almost  akin 
to  death,  and  now  that  a  fight  is  being  made  to  ob- 
tain possession  of  the  one  thing  that  I  prize  the 
highest  in  the  world,  I  will  stand  by  my  right  if  it 
takes  five  years." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


The  Yukon  Basin — Fish  and  Feather — All  Manners  of 
Game — Indian  Way  of  Hunting  Moose — ^The  Settle- 
ments on  the  Great  Biver — Down  Stream  to  St. 
Michael's— On  Board  the  "Portland"— Fair  Seattle 
Again! 

I  will  diverge  from  my  narrative,  long  enough  to 
relate  some  facts  and  incidents  that  apply  to  the 
Yukon  basin.  It  will  probably  be  interesting  to  the 
readerto  learn,  if  indeed  he  isnot  already  aware  of  it — 
that  the  Yukon  River  is  the  secoiul  largest  stream  in 
the  world.  In  si  *  is  only  outstripped  by  the  Ama- 
zon in  South  Amei  »i::a,and  has  no  equal  on  any  v>f  the 
other  continents.  It  discharges  one  third  more 
water  than  the  Mississippi,  and  enter.^  Behring  Sea 
through  more  than  a  hundred  different  ch  anels;  as 
it  passes  over  the  Yukon  flats,  ii  is  seventy-five 
miles  wide  and  the  banks  cannot  be  discerned  on 
both  sides  at  the  same  time  from  a  boat  in  mid- 
channel.  Its  principal  tributaries  ^  The  Andre- 
afski,  Anvik,  Innoko,  Kaiyun,  Nuiato,  Koyukuk, 
Soonkakat,  Melozikakat,  Nowikakat,  Klatsuta- 
kakat,  Tozikakat,  Tanana,  Klanarcharg^t,  Whim- 
per, Ray,  Outt,  Beaver,  Porcupine,  Seventy  Mile, 
Klondyke,  Indian,  Reindeer,  Stewart  and  White 
Rivers;  Shagluk  Slough;  Birch,  Forty  Mile  and 
Sixty  Mile  Creeks.  It  is  formed  by  the  Pelly  and 
Lewis  Rivers  whose  principal  branches,  so  far  as 
prospected,  are,  for  the  Pelly,  the  McMillan,  and  for 

038) 


134        THE  LARGEST  AMERICAN  RIVER 

the  Lewis,  the  Nordenskiold,  Little  Salmon,  Big 
Salmon,  Hootalinqua.  These  rivers  have  really 
been  explored  but  little,  as  the  Indians,  a  few  miles 
from  the  Yukon,  are  hostile,  and  the  labor  of  get- 
ting provisions  any  distance  in  the  interior  is  so 
great.  However,  what  has  been  said,  in  this  narra- 
tive, of  the  Stewart  River  will  apply  to  most  of  them. 

There  are  in  Alaska  and  the  Yukon  basin  more 
than  one  hundred  varieties  of  fish;  though  the 
salmon  and  white  fish  are  the  princip^il  varieties 
found  in  f-r  Yukon  and  its  branches.  The  lakes, 
however,  fauly  teem  with  pickerel,  which  resemble 
the  pickerel  caught  from  the  lakes  in  the  States  ex- 
cept that  it  is  much  larger. 

The  bear,  wolf,  dear,  carriboo,  moose,  fox  and 
wolverine  are  the  principal  animals  of  the  Yukon 
basin,  and  are  very  valuable  for  their  flesh  and  fur 
which  suppl}  the  M'cessaries  of  life  to  the  native 
inhabitants. 

Last  winter,  the  Indians  had  to  fall  back  exclu- 
sively on  their  former  habits  of  living.  The  Com- 
mercial Companies  were  afraid  that  to  supply  them 
with  provisions,  as  has  been  their  habit  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  would  bring  oi  a  shortage  that  might 
create  a  famine  among  th'^  whites;  they  refused 
therefore  to  sell  goods  to  the  Indians  and  threw 
them  on  their  own  resources.  They  took  to  the 
mountains,  repaired  their  old  hunting  lodges  and 
killed  elk  enough  to  see  them  through  the  winter 
in  comparative  comfort.  Occasionally  they  would 
load  a  moo6e  on  a  sled  and  bring  it  to  the  mines, 


FISH  AND  FEATHER 


135 


somietimes  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles,  and 
trade  it  to  the  miners  for  flour.  Their  manner  of 
hunting  moose  is  somewhat  novel;  it  displays  the 
cunning  and  patience  their  race  has  cultivated  for 
centuries.  They  will  take,  from  the  shoulder  of  the 
moose,  a  bone  which  is  about  three  inches  broad  at 
one  end  while  it  tapers  to  a  point  at  the  other;  this 
they  rattle  behind  a  tree,  taking  care  to  keep  con- 
cealed but  occasionally  exposing  the  broad  end  of 
the  bone.  The  noise  and  motion  correctly  imitate 
a  moose  rubbing  a  tree  with  its  horns,  a  system 
which  these  animals  use  in  communicating  with 
each  other;  the  noise  thus  made  is  very  clear  and 
may  be  heard  a  long  distance  in  the  crisp  mountain 
air.  When  the  Indians  have  thus  succeeded  in  at- 
tracting the  moose,  they  appear  from  behind  their 
cover  and  kill  them.  In  summer  the  moose  live 
near  the  lakes  and  swamp,  and  feed  on  the  roots 
and  herbs  growing  in  the  water.  They  will  dive 
down,  a  distance  of  several  feet,  in  order  to  get  at 
a  bunch  of  choice  roots. 

There  are  a  number  of  dtnominational  missions 
established  along  the  Yukon,  among  the  various 
Indian  tribes,  and  the  younger  generation  is  well 
educated  in  the  English  language.  They  serve  as 
pilots  on  the  river  boats,  and  know  the  channel  so 
well  that  they  seldom  get  one  of  them  aground.  An 
Indian  wil!  pilot  a  boat  through  the  country  of  his 
tribe  when  he  will  be  relieved  by  a  native  of  the 
next  tribe  and  so  on  until  the  boat  reaches  her  des- 
tination.   At  some  of  these  missions,  the  hardier 


ifev 


\m 


'.8?P 


im 


m 


WITH  THE  YUKON  INDIANS 


vegetables  are  grown,  which  are  necessary  in  order 
to  protect  the  residents  from  scurvy.  A  white  man 
cannot  exist  there  longer  than  three  years  without 
some  green  vegetable  food,  and  until  potatoes,  cab- 
bage, etc.,  were  brought  up  the  river  by  the  trading 
companies,  the  miners  would  be  compelled  to  seek 
civilization  every  few  years.  Many  of  the  younger 
Indian  squaws  are  married  to  miners,  when  they 
leave  the  missions,  and  follow  the  fortunes  of  their 
husbands.  Some  of  these  men,  principally  French- 
Canadians  have  become  wealthy  and  have  sent  their 
children  to  the  States  and  Canada  to  receive  an 
education.. 

All  the  rivers  emptying  into  the  Yukon,  have 
been  found  to  contain  gold;  so  far  as  discovered, 
the  richest  among  them  are  the  branches  of  the 
Klondyke.  Heretofore  Forty  Mile  and  Sixty  Mile 
Rivers  had  been  considered  the  richest,  though 
Birch  Creek,  with  its  tributaries,  was  a  close  third. 

So  abruptly  do  the  mountains  rise  from  the  Yu- 
kon, that  it  might  almost  be  said  to  split  a  range 
in  two.  It  is  a  rapid  stream  and  is  full  of  islands 
from  its  source  to  its  mouth  . 

As  we  steamed  by  Forty  Mile  City,  Fort  Reliance 
and  Circle  City,  we  found  them  almost  deserted;  in 
fact,  in  Circle  City,  which  had  hitherto  been  the 
metropolis  of  the  interior,  I  saw  but  three  men,  and 
they  were  the  employes  of  the  Trading  Companies, 
or  they  would  perhaps  have  been  with  the  others  in 
the  new  metropolis. 

Forty  Mile,  Sixty  Mile,  Seventy  Mile  and  other 


CIRCLE  CITY  DESERTED 


137 


creeks  and  locations  on  the  Yukon,  whose  names 
indicate  distance,  are  so  called  on  account  of  their 
relative  distance  from  Fort  Reliance.  Sixty  Mile 
is  sixty  miles  above  rort  Reliance,  and  was  dis- 
covered by  a  prospector  who  started  from  Fort  Re- 
liance, then  the  principal  trading  post  on  the  Yukon 
River.  Forty  Mile  is  forty  miles  below  Fort  Reli- 
ance, and  Seventy  Mile  is  still  thirty  miles  further 
down  the  river. 

We  steamed  down  the  Yukon,  without  incident  or 
accident  worth  noting.  The  voyage,  however,  led 
rne  to  appreciate  to  some  degree  the  extent  and 
value  of  the  Alaska  territory.  It  Is  one  fourth  the 
size  of  all  the  other  possessions  of  the  United  States 
and  though  its  purchase  price  was  but  seven  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  its  wealth  cannot  be  estimated. 
The  salmon  and  seal  fisheries  alone  amount  to  many 
million  of  dollars  each  year,  and  though  I  remem- 
ber that  I  criticised  the  Un-.ted  States  government  at 
the  time  it  made  the  investment,  I  am  well  satisfied 
now  that  no  business  transaction  ever  closed  in  the 
United  States,  either  of  a  public  or  private  nature, 
has  been  more  profitable  to  the  buyer  than  this 
purchase  has  been  and  will  be  to  Uncle  Sam. 

We  arrived  at  St.  Michael's  about  the  end  of 
June,  and  were  obliged  to  wait  here  a  few  days  for 
the  'Tor^land"  on  which  we  intended  to  take  pass- 
age to  Seattle. 

St.  Michael's  is  the  principal  trading  post  of  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company,  and  it  is  here  that 
the  ocean    steamers  must   discharge  the   cargoes 


I  j- 


138 


AT  ST.  MICHAEL'S 


which  are  to  be  taken  up  the  Yukon  by  the  river 
steamers.  It  is  a  native  town  and  is  located  about 
sixty  miles  to  the  north  of  the  usual  entrance  to 
the  Yukon. 

No  spot  has  yet  been  found  nearer  the  mouth 
of  the  Yukon,  where  a  landing  can  safely  be  made, 
as  the  ice  when  it  comes  down  the  river  in  the 
spring  covers  the  various  islands  and  would  prob- 
ably demolish  the  shore  houses  or  such  other  struct- 
ures as  might  be  built  for  the  convenience  of  com- 
merce. 

We  took  our  gold  aboard  the  "Portland"  when 
she  arrived  and  in  a  few  days  were  steaming  south- 
east toward  Unalaska,  We  celebrated  the  Fourth 
of  July,  as  best  we  could,  considering  that  we  were 
aboard  ship  in  the  center  of  Behring  Sea.  I  believe 
that  we  were  as  happy  to  be  again  bound  for  civil- 
ization where  the  stars  and  stripes  would  form,  a 
part  of  every  scene,  as  we  had  been  when  boys  to 
suddenly  become  the  possessors  of  innumerable, 
genuine  fire  crackers. 

We  had  a  pleasant  voyage,  and  yet,  as  we  were 
homeward  bound  with  good  news  it  seemed  quite 
long,  and  we  fretted  a  great  deal  at  not  being  able 
to  proceed  faster.  However,  in  due  time,  we  passed 
Unalaska  and  Dutch  Harbor,  and  were  again  on 
the  broad  Pacific.  On  the  16th  of  July,  we  sighted 
the  light  house,  on  Tatoosh  Island,  off  Cape  Flat- 
tery, at  the  entrance  of  the  Straight  of  San  Juan  De 
Fuca,  and  when  we  passed  inside  we  felt  that  at  last 
we  were  indeed  almost  home.    As  we  steamed  by. 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME 


139 


we  gave  the  signal  and  were  reported  at  tfie  various 
signal  stations,  along  the  coast.  Hardly  had  we 
arrived  in  the  straights  when  we  were  signalled  by 
a  tug.  We  hove  to  and  greatly  to  our  surprise  we 
were  boarded  by  a  representative  of  the  Associated 
Press,  who  it  seems  had  been  lying  in  wait  for  us. 
He  aroused  the  captain  who  in  turn  gathered  to- 
gether the  various  passengers  and  we  were  all  in- 
terviewed as  to  what  we  had,  where  and  how  we 
obtained  it,  and  whether  or  not  there  was  any  of 
the  stuff  left  behind.  After  receiving  our  answers 
the  reporter  went  on  board  the  tug  again  and  started 
for  Seattle,  where,  when  we  arrived,  the  first  words 
we  heard  were  "Post-Intelligencer  Special!  All 
about  the  tons  of  gold  on  board  the  'Portland !' " 
and,  sure  enough,  our  relatives  had  heard  of  our 
good  news  through  the  newspaper  columns  and 
some  of  them  had  even  been  already  shopping  on 
the  strength  of  it. 

When  I  sighted  Seattle,  "from  the  deck  of  the 
"Portland"  I  felt,  oh  how  glad!  The  surrounding 
scenery  had  lost  none  of  its  beauty  nor  had  the  city 
lagged  in  energy  or  enterprise  since  I  had  left  it. 
All  around  me  spoke  of  undaunted  activity  and  un- 
dying hope  in  the  brightest  of  futures. 


ill 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Fortunes  on  Board  the  "Portland" — The  Excitement 
Beaches  Its  Climax — The  Stampede  Northward  Be- 
gins— A  Graphic  Newspaper  Description  of  the 
Bush — Inquiring  Visitors  and  Correspondents  by 
the  Thousand-^Off  to  San  Francisco— Five  Thou- 
sand Six  Hundred  Shining  Double  Eagles  Stamped 
Out  of  My  Klondyke  Gold. 

A  partial  list  of  the  gold  that  we  brought  down 
on  the  Portland  reads  as  follows: 

Clarence  Berry $135,000. 

William  M.  Stanley 112,000. 

F.  G.  H.  Bowfer 90,000. 

T.  S.  Lippy 65,000. 

Henry  Dore 50,000. 

J.  B.  Hollingshead 25,000. 

Albert  Galbraith   15,000. 

James  McMahon 15,000. 

Victor  Lord   15,000. 

Douglas  McArtur 15,000. 

Bernard  Anderson 14,000. 

Robert  Krook   14,000. 

Fred  Lendesser  13,000. 

J.  J.  Kelly 10,000. 

Thomas  Cook ; 10,000. 

M.  S.  Norcross 10,000. 

j.  Ernmerger   10,000. 

Con  Stamatin  8,205. 

Jack  Home 6,000. 

Albert  Fox 5,100. 


t?1 


w 


C/3 


trt 


A  LIST  OF  GOLD  HUNTERS  141 

Greg   Stewart    $  5,000. 

Thomas  Flack  5,000. 

Louis  B.  Rhoads 5,000. 

J.  O.  Hestwood 5,000. 

Joe    Ladiie  10,000. 

Ben  Wall 50,000. 

William  Carlson 50,000. 

Wm.  Sloan 50,000. 

John  Wilker  on 50,000. 

Jim  Clemens  50,000. 

Frank  Keller  35,000. 

Sam  Collej   25,000. 

Stewart  and  Hollenhead 45,000. 

Charles  Myers  and  partner 23,000. 

Johnny  Marks  10,000. 

Alex.  Orr  10,000. 

Fred  Price 15,000. 

Fred  Latisceura   10,000. 

Tim  Bell 31,000. 

William  Hayes 35,000. 

Dick  McNulty  20,000. 

Jake  Halterman  14,000. 

Johnson  and  Olson 20,000. 

Neil  McArthur 50,000. 

Charles  Anderson  25,000. 

Joe  Morris 15,000. 

Hank  Peterson 12,000. 

There  were  a  great  many  more  who  came  back 
with  from  $3,000  to  $10,000  whose  names  I  have 
forgotten. 

Thte  crowd  at  the  wharf  when  we  landed  was  so 


1  I   nr'l 
"•ill 


Pii 


U2 


SEATTLE  EXCITEMENT 


dense  t'lat  we  could  hardly  get  through; in  fact  with- 
out the  aid  of  a  detachment  of  police,  I  do  not 
think  we  could  have  gotten  ashore.  They  cleared 
the  way  for  us  and  nost  cA  us  loaded  our  gold  into 
wagons  and  took  it  to  the  express  office,  where 
we  shipped  it  to  the  variotis  mints.  I  shipped  mine 
to  San  Francisco,  where  it  was  coined. 

The  people  seemed  to  be  at  first  almost  dumb 
with  astonishment  but  aftjer  the  gold  had  ilisap- 
peared  from  view  this  astonioh*nent  gave  way  to  an 
excitement  that  resulted  in  a  stampede  from  Seattle, 
the  like  of  which  has  perhaps  never  been  known  in 
the  world's  history. 

The  stampeJe  proper  began  when  the  news  of  the 
discovery  v^as  first  told  on  the  Yukon  River.  The 
crew  of  the  steamer  that  brought  in  supplies  de- 
serted to  a  man,  nnd  the  captain  had  to  employ 
■natives  in  order  to  get  the  steamer  back  dovvm  the 
river.  The  ''^•ampede  spread  until  it  had  reached  the 
remotest  mines  i  the  Yukon  basin.  Sixty  Mi!';, 
tort.  Mile,  Fort  Cudahy,  Circle  Ciiy,  and  in  fac. , 
every  camp  was  deserted  for  the  Klondyke  district. 

The  news  then  reached  Juneau,  and  the  other 
Alaska  coast  towns,  anu  they  too  joined  in  the 
rush.  The  excitement  in  all  the  coast  cities  became 
intense  and  men  rushed  around  like  insane  bein^^s 
in  tkeir  efforts  to  get  the  wherewith  to  join  the 
stampede.  The  first  boat  to  leave  for  the  North 
after  the  return  of  the  'lixcelsior"  and  "Portland" 
with  tlieir  cargoes  of  gold  was  the  steamer  'Tort- 
land/'  which  started  North  as  soon  as  she  could  get 


. L. 


THE  NORTHWEST  STAMPEDE  BEGINS     143 

a  cargo  aboard.  Her  leaving  is  descnbed  in  the 
"Post  Intelligencer"  of  the  following  day,  and  as  the 
description  is  well  written,  I  will  not  try  to  improve 
on  it,  but  will  quote  verbatim  as  follows: 

"Perhaps  never  before  in.  the  history  of  Seattle 
has  there  departed  from  its  embracing  harbor  a 
steamer  freighted  with  a  cargo  so  interesting  and 
destined  so  vaguely  as  the  "Portland,"  which  sv^rung 
out  yesterday  afternoon  from  a  wharf  covered  with 
hundreds  of  waving,  weeping  people,  and,  pushing 
her  nose  to  the  north,  sailed  foi'  the  Yukon. 

"It  was  like  the  parting  of  a  son  from  a  mother, 
and  the  Queen  City  seemed  loth  to  admit  the  going. 
There  w^ere  men  aboard  so  beluved  by  her  that  in 
the  great  grief  of  the  mother,  individual  tears  seemed 
petty.  There  have  been  hundreds  who  have  gone 
before  and  hearts  which  ached  at  their  departure, 
but  this  seemed  more  individually  a  boatload  of 
Seattle  people;  some  I'.a^ing  not  only  a  circle  of 
friends,  su^h  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  majority,  but 
holding  a  position  in  the  public  eye  which  made 
their  exodus  an  event  of  general  importance. 
Among  the  watchers  from  the  v/harf,  there  was  none 
who  did  not  feel  the  exciting  influence  of  the  scene. 
As  well  known  faces  passed  up  the  short  gang- 
plank, syni;  athetic  whispers  signified  their  recog- 
nition and  breathed  hopes  of  their  success. 

"In  every  crowd  there  is  the  melancholy  man, 
and  perhaps  he  saw  a  shadowy  arch  spanning  the 
steamer's  gangway  with  the  words  'All  hope  aban- 
don ye  who  enter  here.'      But  the  opinions  of  the 


I 


mim^mmmmmmfi^mmmmmF''iK^^ 


144    THE  NORTHWEST  STAMPEDE  BEGINS 

pessimist  were  at  a  discount  in  that  crowd  of  en- 
thusiasts. They  could  only  see  the  sign:  "The 
road  to  wealth."  One  hundred  and  fifty  took  that 
road,  and  one  could  imagine,  as  they  boarded  single 
file,  the  Goddess  Fortune  touching  with  her  wand 
those  destined  to  success.  Who  felt  that  magic 
touch  and  the  warmth  of  Fortune's  smile?  Did  it 
fall  on  the  swift  or  on  the  slow ;  on  the  man  who  had 
achieved  and  lost,  or  on  him  whose  pace  was  yet 
untried? 

"The  'Portland'  did  not  get  away  within  four  hot 
hours  of  her  scheduled  time.  Her  sailing  date  was 
fixed  at  noon,  but  it  was  four  o'clock  before  the 
gang-plank  was  drawn  in  and  the  unintelligible  or- 
ders were  given  to  cast  off.  The  sun  came  out  to 
see  every  thing  he  could,  and  was  in  every  body's 
way,  making  a  genial  nuisance  of  himself.  His 
warm  interest  in  the  proceedings,  however,  was 
taken  as  a  good  omen.  He  was  yellow,  too,  and 
the  prospectors  had  the  delight  of  "seeing  the  color" 
early  in  their  hunt. 

"Probably  more  than  2,000  people  were  on  the 
Schwabacher  dock,  or  as  near  as  they  could  get  to 
it.  Some  were  attracted  by  curiosity,  but  many  v/ere 
there  to  bid  adieu  to  relatives  and  friends.  One 
man  at  least  was  on  hand  for  business.  He  was  an 
aged  candyman,  with  a  store  of  the  yellow  prepara- 
tion known  to  confectioners  as  peanut  candy.  It 
was  made  up  in  cakes,  and  the  old  man  held  these 
aloft  before  the  eyes  of  the  outgoing  miners  and 
cried:    'Yukon  nuggets,  85  cents  apiece.'    William 


THE  NORTHWEST  STAMPEDE  BEGINS     145 

Moran,  of  Moran  Bros.,  who,  by  the  way,  seemed 
very  glad  to  find  himself  going,  fell  heir  to  a  half 
nugget  without  being  required  to  put  up  the  stip- 
ulated 12^  cents.  He  saw  Comptroller  Parry  roam- 
ing around  with  a  camera  in  hand,  and  cried  out: 
'Take  a  shot  at  me,  will  you,  and  give  it  to  my' 
brother  for  my  wife/  The  shot  was  taken.  Two 
enterprising  boys  dodged  in  and  out  of  the  crowd, 
offering  for  sale  copies  of  the  'British  Mining  Laws.' 

"Ex-Gov.  John  H.  McGrav/  and  Gen.  E.  M. 
Carr  were  among  the  first  to  board  the  vessel. 
There  was  an  interesting  scene  at  the  gang  plank, 
where  the  governor,  after  breaking  through  his 
many  friends,  was  stopped  by  a  deck  hand  and  re- 
quired to  show  his  ticket.  Gen.  Carr  had  gone 
ahead  with  the  necessary  passes,  and  the  governor 
encountered  his  first  obstacle.  The  deck  hand  did 
not  know  who  he  was.  As  soon  as  the  difficulty 
was  comprehended  by  the  crowd  a  dozen  voices 
cried:  That's  all  right,  man ;  that's  all  right.'  The 
deck  hand  persisted.  The  attention  of  an  officer 
was  called,  some  one  on  board  evidently  explaining 
who  the  delayed  passenger  was.  Ho  ^cme  to  the 
spot  at  once  and  called  out  cheeiily:  'Let  the 
gentleman  pass.  Tommy,  and  all  the  ladies  with 
him.'  Tommy  obeyed,  and  Gov.  McGraw  passed 
aboard,  followed  by  Mrs.  McGraw,  his  daughter 
and  son.  They  went  below  to  their  cabin,  and  were 
not  seen  until  shortly  before  the  steamer  sailed. 

"There  was  one  familiar  sign  on  the  steamer's 
side.    S.  P.  Weston,  the  Post  Intelligencer's  special 


m 


.>.'.■ 


m 


wm 


U6    THE  NORTHWEST  STAMPEDE  BEGINS 

correspondent,  crawled  out  on  a  life  boat  and  tacked 
on  its  side  the  yellow  board  whose  brothers  give 
from  every  fence  and  bill  board  in  the  city  this  ad- 
vice: 'Read  the  P-L' 

"Altogether  those  on  the  boat  seemed  happy, 
probably  sustained  by  exciting  visions  of  a  golden 
home-coming.  It  was  the  desolate  hearts  left  be- 
hind which  seemed  breaking,  and  many  a  woman 
kissed  her  husband  and  straight  way  burst  into 
tears.  A  most  affecting  parting  was  between  a 
gentle-faced  old  man  and  his  gray-haired  wife.  He 
looked  as  one  who  had  tried  before  the  fortunes  of 
a  mining  camp  and  went  forth  now  on  a  search 
which  might  be  his  last.  The  sweet  grief  of  that 
aged  wife  and  her  husband's  noble  efforts  at  con- 
dolence were  most  pathetic.  Some  laughed  and 
joked  to  force  away  the  tell-tale  evidence  of  sorrow, 
and  some  there  were  whose  stony  features  showed 
no  trace  of  what  was  too  deep  for  display. 

"Exactly  at  four  o'clock,  the  lines  were  cast  off 
and  the  steamer,  with  her  cargo  of  high  strung 
human  beings,  drew  away  from  the  landing.  Four 
deck  hands  standing  on  a  lumber  platform  at  her 
bow  sang:  'Say  au  revoir,  but  not  goodby.'  It  was 
an  old  story  to  them,  and  they  seemed  delighted  at 
their  ability  to  display  their  noisy  joy.  At  the 
stern  was  a  deck  hand  of  different  mold.  He  sur- 
veyed the  crowd  from  the  boat,  and  emitting  a 
melancholy  'whoop*  he  feebly  waved  his  arm  and 
dived  below.  The  crowd  laughed  at  this,  only  too 
glad  to  relieve  the  tension.    As  the  'Portland'  cir- 


THE  NORTHWEST  STAMPEDE  BEGINS     147 

cled  about  in  the  harbor,  the  steamers  along  the 
water  front  turned  loose  their  steam  whistles  in 
prolonged  salutes.  Handkerchiefs  waved  from 
shore  to  boat,  cheers  rent  the  air,  and  women 
cleared  their  tearful  eyes  to  strain  them,  for  one 
last  glance,  at  the  slowl)'^  retreating  boat.  Oflf  Four- 
mile  rock,  the  passing  steamer  'Grayhound'  gave  a 
last  long,  royal  salute.  It  was  thus  the  150  passed 
out  of  sight. 

"The  cargo  of  the  'Portland'  was  about  1,200 
tons,  destined  for  St.  Michael's,  Dawson  City,  Fort 
Cudahy,  Circle  City  and  Unalaska.  The  manifest 
at  the  local  customs  house  showed  the  following 
items:  Paint,  5  cases;  beer,  133  casks;  windows,  36 
bundles;  groceries,  192  cases;  dry  goods,  13  cases; 
picks,  110;  shovels,  150;  potatoes,  800  crates;  on- 
ions, 100  crates;  oranges,  50  crates;  lemons,  25 
crates;  rice,  200  mats;  flour,  2,000  sacks;  dried 
fruits,  1,477  cases;  groceries,  1,420  cases;  hardware, 
196  bundles;  cigars,  2  cases;  lumber  and  material 
for  warehouse. 

"There  were  1,466  packages  of  Canadian  goods 
in  transit,  covered  by  a  transportation  and  exporta- 
tion bond." 

The  "Portland"  was  followed  by  other  steamers, 
sailing  craft  and  even  canoes  until  more  than  a 
thousand  people  have  gone  in  by  way  of  St. 
Michael's,  and  about  eight  thousand  people  have 
been  landed  at  Dyea  and  Skaguay,  and  still  there 
are  more  going.  But  few  of  those,  however,  who 
intended  going  over  the  pass,  will  be  able  to  get 


It's 


"i^ 


148 


INQUIRIES  FROM  ALL  SIDES. 


down  the  Yukon,  before  it  freezes  up,  and  unless 
they  have  plenty  of  supplies  with  them  it  is  per- 
haps better  so.  These  people  came  from  all  parts 
of  the  United  States,  and  Europe  is  represented  in 
the  stampede.  Some  are  returning  already,  having 
given  up  the  attempt  to  get  through  before  winter, 
and,  in  some  cases,  the  bodies  of  others  less  for- 
tunate have  been  shipped  back  to  their  friends. 

This  stampede  will  continue  during  the  next  year, 
1898,  and  the  question  "When  are  you  going?"  has 
become  so  annoying  to  people  in  the  Pacific  coast 
towns  that  they  have  taken  to  wearing  a  button 
inscribed  with  the  words  "Going  in  the  spring," 
which  eflfectually  answers  the  question  even  before 
it  has  been  asked.    . 

I  had  no  sooner,  gotten  home  than  I  was  be- 
sieged on  all  sides  by  people  desiring  information 
on  this  wonderful  country.  My  house  was  full, 
night  and  day,  and  letters  poured  in  until  I  had  re- 
ceived more  than  a  thousand,  which  of  course  I 
found  it  impossible  to  answer.  These  letters  were  of 
every  description,  but  were  generally  of  a  business- 
like nature,  and  I  very  much  regret  that  I  could  not 
find  time  even  to  read  them  all. 

After  being  home  but  a  few  days  I  left  with  my 
family  for  San  Francisco,  where  I  went  to  get  my 
gold  minted  and  if  possible  escape  the  crowd  of 
information  seekers.  Not  but  what  I  was  willing  at 
all  times  to  give  what  information  I  could,  but  the 
strain  of  constant  talking,  from  morning  till  night 
and  from  night  to  midnight,  had  very  much  ini- 


MINTING  MY  GOLD 


l4d 


paired  my  health,  and  I  needed  rest.  In  San  Fran- 
cisco, however,  at  my  hotel,  I  found  it  equally  as 
bad,  still  as  long  as  I  could  talk,  I  did  so,  and  when 
my  voice  gave  out  entirely  I  had  to  turn  people 
away  without  seeing  them. 

The  U.  S.  mint,  at  this  time,  was  closed  on  ac- 
count of  a  change  that  was  about  to  be  made,  the 
Democratic  director  being  superseded  by  a  Re- 
publican one.  This  delay  kept  us  all  waiting  for 
about  two  weeks  but  finally  we  succeeded  in  getting 
our  gold  coined.  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  being 
the  possessor  of  the  cleanest  dust,  as  my  lot  went 
for  sixteen  dollars  and  thirty  cents  to  the  ounce. 

While  in  San  Francisco,  I  was  entertained  by  the 
business  men  of  the  Golden  Gate  City.  In  fact  we 
were  all  considered  guests  and  many  of  us  had  the 
entre  to  the  most  exclusive  business  and  social 
circles.  Though  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  was 
caused  by  the  general  desire  for  information,  yet 
the  people  of  San  Francisco  proved  that  they  were 
masters  of  the  art  of  entertaining,  and  should  any 
of  them  come  my  way  in  the  Klondyke,  I  will  will- 
ingly reciprocate  with  the  best  that  there  is  in  that 
land;  though  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  ice-water 
for  wine  (for  I  don't  believe  that  the  average  San 
Francisco  palate  could  stand  the  Klondyke 
liquors),  and,  for  the  dainty  dishes  of  the  Maison 
Riche  or  the  Palace  Hotel,  I  will  willingly  exchange 
such  as  we  have:  bacon  and  sour  dough  bread. 

Of  late  there  has  been  considerable  discussion  as 
to  who  was  actually  the  discoverer  of  gold  on  the 


150  REAL  DISCOVERER  OF  THE  NEW  FIELDS 

branches  of  the  Klondyke.  In  order  to  throw  more 
light  on  the  subject  I  will  give  the  story  as  related 
to  me  by  George  W.  McCormack,  whose  name 
has  been,  misspelled  throughout  the  country  as 
"Cromack,  Cromax  and  Cromick."  He  told  me 
that  he  was  fishing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Klondyke 
together  with  his  two  brothers-in-law,  the  Indians, 
Skukum  Jim  and  Pagish  Charlie;  as  there  was  no 
salmon  they  struck  camp  and  went  up  the  Klon- 
dyke, which  he  had  been  intending  for  some  time 
to  prospect.  When  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Bonanza  Creek,  a  tributary  entering  from  the  east, 
they  found  a  man  called  Bob  Henderson,  at  work, 
ground  sluicing.  He  was  taking  out  about  twenty 
dollars  a  day.  They  did  not  stop  here,  but  went  up 
the  Bonanza,  ')out  twenty  miles,  where  they  struck 
pay-streak  that  turned  out  rich.  As  twenty  dollars 
per  day  can  be  taken  out  almost  any  where  in  that 
country,  the  Henderson  find  was  not  really  a  strike, 
and  therefore  the  credit  of  the  great  discovery  is 
due  to  George  W.  McCormack. 

I  returned  from  San  Francisco,  only  to  learn  that 
letters  were  still  pouring  in  and  that  every  man  I 
met  seemed  to  be  covered  all  over  with  the  legend 
"information  wanted." 

As  I  was  completely  tired  out,  I  left  the  next 
day  for  the  country  and  took  up  my  residence  on 
an  island  in  Puget  Sound,  where  I  resolved  that  I 
would  write  this  book,  and  give  to  the  world  such 
knowledge  as  I  possess  and  which  might  be  taken, 
in  every  respect,  as  authentic. 


n^'mm^i-_'V'\H.7 


mm 


WHERE  I  WROTE  THIS  BOOK 


in 


I  am  indebted  to  my  amanuensis,  Mr.  J.  M. 
Davis,  of  Seattle,  for  arranging  this  information  into 
the  form  in  which  it  is  presented  to  the  public.  I 
believe  that  the  style  is  clear  and  that  the  narrative 
of  an  interesting,  yea,  even  almost  sensational  trip 
is  well  written.  What  others  may  think  remains 
to  be  seen.  If  it  entertains  orlnstructs  my  readers, 
I  will  be  well  satisfied,  even  though  it  does  not  re- 
sult in  a  financial  success,  for  of  gold  I  have  enqugh 
and  to  spare. 

I  have  often"  been  asked  what  I  intend  to  do  with 
all  this  money;  I  will  answer  by  stating  that  I 
intend  first  to  dig  it  out  of  the  ground  and  then  I 
shall  use  a  part  of  it  in  such  a  way  that  when  I  come 
to  leave  this  earth  I  can  feel,  notwithstanding  what 
others  might  say,  that  the  world  is  better  for  my 
having  lived. 

I  have  frequently  been  asked  where  I  would  ad- 
vise persons  going  to  the  Yukon  to  procure  their 
outfits.  In  this  connection  I  will  simply  say  that  I 
believe  that  everything  needed  can  be  procured  here 
in  Seattle,  for  as  little  money  as  elsewhere,  and 
that  the  resources  of  the  merchants  here  will  be 
equal  to  any  demand  that  can  possibly  be  made 
upon  them. 

If  my  readers,  who  propose  passing  through 
Seattle,  en  route  for  the  Yukon,  will  call  upon  me  at 
my  office  in  the  Olympic  Block  I  will  give  them 
such  advice,  aid  and  information  as  I  am  able  con- 


152 


WHERE  I  MAY  BE  SEEN 


cerning  quality  of  outfits,  articles  required,  etc.,  and 
also  the  latest  news  and  advices  from  the  interior. 
My  address  is: 

W.  M.  Stanley, 
Olympic  Block,  Seattle,  Wash. 


!i 


wmwff'K}'  "'}^  mm* 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  Great  Boundary  Question — ^A  Possible  Quarrel  Be- 
tween  Uncle  Sam  and  John  Bull — ^The  Anglo-Bus- 
sian  Treaty  of  1825 — ^Bussian  Bights  Transferred 
to  JJb  in  1867 — Possession  of  the  Lynn  Canal  in 
Question — ^It  Commands  the  Overland  Boutes  From 
the  Coast  to  the  Oold  Fields— The  Seattle  Mer- 
chants' Petition. 

It  is  generally  and  erroneously  believed  by  the 
J)ublic  at  large  that  thf  Alaska  boundary  contro- 
versy which  has  been  dragging  for  so  many  years 
between  the  United  States  and  British  governments 
refer  to  the  districts  that  have  caused  such  excite- 
ment in  the  last  few  months.  Some  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  state  that  the  Klondyke  river  and  its  rich 
creeks  and  tributaries  were,  by  rights,  enclosed 
within  Uncle  Sam's  domains.  Now  this  is  an 
absolute  mistake,  and  the  point  of  the  great 
boundary  controversy  refers  to  a  totally  different 
territory. 

In  that  connection,  Professor  George  Davidson, 
for  many  years  at  the  head  of  the  United  States 
Government  Geodetic  Survey  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
has  made  the  following  statement  based  upon  his 
own  investigations: 

"Whatever  doubt  has  been  cast  upon  the  posi- 
tion of  the  whole  Klondyke  district  being  in  British 
Columbia  must  have  arisen  from  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  the  dispute  existing  upon  the  proper  location 

a58» 


154 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


of  that  part  of  the  boundary  line  lying  eastward 
and  southward  of  Mount  St.  Elias.  The  north  or 
meridian  line  of  the  boundary  has  been  accurately 
determined.  The  only  local  dispute  that  could 
possibly  arise  would  be  in  the  Forty-Mile  Creek 
district.  But  no  dispute  has  arisen  in  the  district, 
nor  is  it  likely  that  any  will  occur.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  line  has  been  satisfactorily  laid 
down." 

We  may,  therefore,  accept  as  fixed  the  fact  of  the 
British  ownership  of  the  Klondyke  region;  but 
must  add  that  there  is  a  very  grave  dispute,  unset- 
tled yet  and  referring  to  the  coast  line  of  Alaska, 
along  the  Lynn  Canal,  including  the  inlets  of  Dyea 
and  Skaguay,  from  which  start  the  famous  miners* 
trails  of  the  Chilkoot  and  the  White  Pass  respect- 
ively. 

The  area  sought  by  the  British  includes  tlie  key 
to  the  far  -^rthern  part  of  America.  While  the 
value  of  the  territory  in  question  cannot  be  ac- 
curately determined,  it  can  be  readily  seen  that 
great  commercial  advantages  will  accrue  to  the 
nation  holding  it.  Especially  is  this  evident  at  this 
time,  as  it  is  almost  impossible  to  pass  into  the 
Yukon  gold  fields  without  traversing  some  part  of 
what  is  claimed  as  Alaska. 

During  Secretary  Olney's  term,  he  and  Sir  Jul- 
ian Pauncefote  had  practically  agreed  on  a  treaty, 
but  the  Senate  has  never  acted  upon  it.  The  treaty 
was  the  result  of  the  work  of  a  boundary  commis- 


mmf^HmmfV"      ''*  -H 


"^^ wmm 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


155 


sion  and  its  exact  terms  are  not  known.  However, 
the  results  of  a  survey  authorized  by  it  has,  until 
the  recent  discoveries  of  rich  gold  deposits,  been 
considered  by  both  the  U:iited  States  and  England 
as  official  and  correct. 

In  1821, the  Czar  of  Russia  issued  a  ukase  prohib- 
iting the  vessels  of  other  nations  from  approaching 
the  coast  of  Russian  America.  His  orders  were 
not  to  allow  any  vessel,  not  carrying  the  Russian 
flag  within  100  miles  of  the  coast.  England  com- 
menced negotiations  in  reference  to  this  prohibition, 
which  resulted  in  a  treaty  in  1825.  It  read  as  fol- 
lows: "The  line  of  demarkation  between  the  posses- 
sions of  the  high  contracting  powers  upon  the  coast 
of  the  continent  and  the  island  of  America  to  the 
northwest  should  be  drawn  in  the  following  manner: 
Commencing  from  the  southernmost  of  the  land 
called  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  which  point  lies  in 
the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes  north  latitude, 
and  between  the  31st  degree  and  the  133d  degree 
of  west  longitude,  the  same  line  shall  ascend  to  the 
north  along  the  channel  called  Portland  channel  as 
far  as  the  point  of  the  continent  where  it  strikes 
the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude.  From  this  last 
mentioned  point  the  line  of  demarcation  shall  fol- 
low the  summit  of  the  mountains  situated  parallel 
to  the  coast  as  far  as  the  point  of  intersection  of  the 
41st  degree  of  west  longitude  of  the  same  meridian, 
and  finally  from  the  said  point  of  intersection  on  the 
said  meridian  line  of  the  141st  degree  in  its  pro- 
-4ongation,  as  far  as  the  frozen  ocean,  shall  form  the 


i  M 

I 


IM 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


limit  between  the  Russian  and  British  possessions 
on  the  continent  of  America  to  the  noithv/est. 
Wherever  the  summit  of  the  mountains,  which  ex- 
tend in  a  direction  parallel  to  the  coast  from  the 
fifty-sixth  degree  of  norUi  latitude  to  the  point  of 
intersecti'-»n  of  the  141st  degree  of  west  longitude, 
shall  pre  ve  to  be  a  distance  of  more  than  ten  marine 
leagues  from  the  ocean,  which  is  to  belong  to  Rus- 
sia, as  above  stated,  they  shall  be  formed  by  a  line 
parallel  to  the  winding  of  the  coast,  and  which  shall 
never  exceed  the  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues 
therefrom." 

In  1867  the  United  States  purchased  from  Russia 
what  was  known  as  Russian  America.  In  describ- 
ing the  boundaries  of  this  tract  precisely  the  same 
terms  were  used  in  the  treaty  of  purchase.  In  fact 
the  description  was  copied  verbatim  from  the 
English-Russian  document.  In  1884,  however,  the 
English,  being  auvised  by  their  ^geographers  that 
a  mistake  had  been  made  in  the  tracing  of  the  pro- 
visional boundary,  insisted  that  the  final  line  of 
demarkation  should  be  advanced  seaward. 

Instead  of  passing  up  the  Portland  channel,  the 
Canadian  maps  represented  the  line  as  passing  up 
the  Behm  Channel,  about  seventy  miles  west  of  the 
Portland  Channel  mentioned  in  the  treaty. 

There  are  three  facts  given  by  the  boundary 
commission,  that  show  beyond  any  question  that 
the  line  as  previously  represented  is  the  correct 
one. 

"First,  the  British  admiralty,  rVuen  sur/cyjng  the 


■oa 


■Ml 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


157 


northern  limit  of  the  British  Columbian  possession 
in  1868,  surveyed  Portland  Canal  and  not  Behm 
Canal,  ai.<:  thus  by  implication  admitted  this  to  be 
the  boundary  line." 

"Second,  the  region  now  -claimed  by  British 
Columbia  was  at  that  time  occupied  as  a  military 
post  of  the  United  States  without  objection  or  pro- 
test on  the  part  of  British  Columbia. 

"Third,  Annette  Island,  in  this  region,  was  by 
Act  of  Congress  four  years  ago,  set  apart  as  a  reser- 
vation for  the  use  of  the  Metlakahtla  Indians,  who 
sought  asylum  under  the  American  flag  to  escape 
annoyances  experienced  under  the  British  flag." 

Lynn  Canal  is  the  northernmost  extension  of  the 
Alexander  Archipelago,  the  herd  of  which  is  about 
one  hundred  miles  north  of  Juneau.  Here  are  sit- 
uated Dyea  and  the  Skaguay  Bay  from  which  start, 
respectively,  the  Chilcoot  Pass  and  the  White  Pass. 
These  are  the  on.y  practical  overland  routes  to  the 
Yukon  gold  fields.  The  Taku  River  may  also  be 
considered  a  probable  route  in  the  future.  The 
English  claims  include  both  the  Lynn  Canal  and  the 
Taku  River,  thus  practically  corralling  the  great 
highways  to  the  gold  diggings  of  the  Yukon,  In 
Alaska,  as  well  as  in  British  Columbia. 

It  can  easily  be  seen  that  serious  complications 
may  arise  between  the  Unirsd  States  and  the  Brit- 
ish government  before  this  matter  is  finally  settled. 
The  belief  of  the  Engli.-h  in  their  rights  will  lead 
them  to  occupy  the  territory  in  question  a«=  long  as 
possible  and,  in  the  near  futare,  British  troops  will 


•   -m 


m 


;;f>jf?P||!§«P5''^'''*"™ 


158 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


probably  be  posted  at  Dyea  to  collect  customs  from 
incoming  miners,  and  to  hold  all  available  passes  in 
the  name  of  the  Queen  of  England.  The  United 
States  government  should  have  the  matter  exam- 
ined with  the  utmost  care  and  sense  of  justice,  and 
after  obtaining  the  opinion  of  lawyers  well  versed 
in  international  law  set  about  adjusting  this  con- 
troversy so  that  we  know  whether  the  United  States 
postofiice  at  Chilkat  is  in  England  or  in  the  United 
States. 

The  United  States  surveyors  in  a  recent  report 
said: 

'*In  substance  these  determinations  throw  the  dig- 
gings at  the  mouth  of  Forty  Mile  Creek  within  the 
territory  of  the  United  States.  The  whole  valley  of 
this  rich  creek  is  also  in  the  United  States.  Most 
of  the  gold  is  to  the  west  of  the  141st  meridian  at 
Forty  Mile  Creek.  If  we  follow  the  141st  meridian 
on  a  chart  the  mouth  of  Miller's  Creek,  a  tributary 
of  Sixty  Mile  Creek,  and  a  valuable  gold  region,  is 
five  miles  tn  a  direct  line,  or  seven  miles  according 
to  the  winding  of  the  stream,  all  within  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States.  In  substance,  the  only 
places  in  the  Yukon  region  where  gold  in  quantity 
has  been  found  are  all  to  the  wes.  of  the  boundp.ry 
line  between  Canada  and  the  United  States." 

The  United  States  surveyors  favored  the  arbitra- 
tion of  the  141st  meridian  question,  but  expressed 
a  belief  that  the  United  States  Government  would 
refuse  to  arbitrate  their  claims  of  Lynn  Ca'  a1.  Thii 
report,  however,  was  rendered  before  the  discovery 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


ue 


of  the  rich  deposits  on  the  Klondyke,  which,  with 
all  its  tributaries,  is  cleariy  within  the  limits  of 
British  Columbia.  The  Klondyke  empties  into  the 
Yukon  from  the  northeast,  at  about  the  140th  mer- 
idian. As  its  gold-bearing  tributaries  as  tar  as 
prospected,  rise  still  farther  east,  there  can  be  no 
question  as  to  this  section. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Chilkoot  and  White 
Passes,  and  the  Taku  River  valley  form  the  only 
overland  outlet  of  the  Yukon  basin,  and  should  a 
railroad  ever  be  built  to  connect  this  great  country 
with  the  ocean  steamship  Hnes,  it  must  be  by  the 
way  of  the  White  Pass.  It  is  this  territory  that 
the  English  covet,  as  the  government  that  oc- 
cupies these  passes  holds  the  key  to  the  great  inland 
Empire  of  the  Yukon. 

Already  an  EngHsh  company  has  completed  a 
preliminary  survey  for  a  railroad  line  through  this 
pass,  connecting  with  tide  water  at  Skaguay  Bay. 

When  England  and  Russia  negotiated  the  treaty 
in  1825,  but  little  was  known  of  this  territorv„  In- 
deed  about  the  only  white  man  who  had  ever  made 
a  voyage  of  discovery  through  this  section  of  the 
north  ^eas  was  Captain  George  Vancouver. 

Near  the  close  of  the  last  century,  he  published, 
in  England,  a  narrative  in  which  he  speaks  of  the 
Portland  Canal,  and,  in  the  Behm  Canal,  he  located 
a  rock  which  is  250  feet  high  and  about  60  feet  in 
width  at  its  base.  This  rock  he  called  "New  Eddy- 
stone  Rock"  after  the  famous  rock  off  the  south 
coast  of  England  on  which  stands  a  light  house. 


-^si 


i 


||lHIPiS.PI»^(P»  ^mi'm 


««JS«f^" 


uo 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


From  1847  to  1867,  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
paid  Russia  a  yearly  rental  for  the  privilege  cf  hunt- 
ing and  trading  inland  to  the  northwest  of  the 
Portland  Canal.  It  would  seem  that  the  English 
government,  at  that  time,  construed  the  words  of 
the  treaty  differently  from  what  they  do  at  the 
present  time. 

1  he  United  States,  shortly  after  it  purchased  the 
territory  from  Russia,  sent  a  company  of  infantry 
and  built  Fort  Tongas  which  w?.s  located  at  the 
raouth  of  the  Canal.  In  1870,  however,  not  know- 
ing the  existence  of  the  rich  mineral  deposits,  and 
not  suspecting  that  any  nation  would  care  to  steal 
this  land  of  icebergs  and  brush,  the  soldiers  were 
withdrawn,  but  a  custom  house  was  maintained 
imti!  1889,  when  it  was  moved  further  north.  At 
this  time,  the  British  Government  made  no  objec- 
tion to  this  action,  and  not  until  a  system  oi  claim- 
ing new  rights  by  means  of  modernized  maps  was 
inaugurated,  did  it  give  symptoms  of  its  being  im- 
posed upon  in  the  matter  of  boundaries.  This  sys- 
tem of  "mapping"  into  its  own  borders  territory  that 
belongs  to  other  nations  hss  been  fallowed  by  Eng- 
land for  hundreds  of  years,  but  it  r,s  tc  be  earnestly 
hoped  that  this  time  the  British  Government  will 
not  succeed  in  obtaining  from  the  United  States 
this  valuable  territory.  Our  government  at  Wash- 
ington, however,  should  be  awake  to  the  situation, 
and  act  quickly,  otherwise  the  British  will  have 
taken  possession  of  the  contested  territo  y,  and  will 
have  custom  houses  and  military  posts  established 


tam 


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^r'  *i,w^H5Ji^  --i^c     I-      ^-at  A 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


161 


on  all  of  the  natural  highways,  if,  indeed,  they  have 
not  succeeded  in  doing  so  already. 

The  United  States  has  always  construed  the  lan- 
guage of  the  treaty  to  mean  ten  marine  leagues  or 
thirty-four  miles  inland  from  bays  and  inlets,  in  fact 
the  measurement  to  be  made  from  the  edge  of  salt 
water  wherever  it  washed  the  shores  of  the  main- 
land, unless  it  were  found  that  the  "summit  of  the 
mountains  situated  parallel  to  coast"  should  inter- 
vene when  the  line  should  follow  summit. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  no  well  defined  moun- 
tain range  following  the  general  course  of  the  coast. 
The  mountains  seem  to  have  been  thrown  about  in 
a  haphazard  way  and  do  not  appear  to  bear  any 
particular  relation  to  each  other.  They  extend  in  all 
directions  and  the  higher  points  of  the  cluster  are 
many  miles  farther  inland. 

The  British  Government  construes  the  treaty  to 
mean  that  measurements  should  be  made  from  the 
main  channels  of  water,  and  that  the  crest  of  the 
first  mountains  or  foot  hills,  must  be  the  mountains 
referred  to  in  this  important  document. 

The  line  of  demarcation  as  recently  laid  out  by 
the  English  begins  at  the  southeastern  extremity  of 
Prince  of  Wales  Island  and  runs  north  for  a  distance 
of  about  seventy-five  miles  until  the  mouth  of  Behm 
Canal  is  reached.  From  here  its  course  is  east  of 
north  up  the  Rehm  Canal  as  far  as  the  5Gth  parallel 
of  north  longitude,  thence  in  a  northwestern  direc- 
tion to  Taku  inlet  where  its  direction  is  changed  to 
due  west,  leaving  Taku  inlet  in  the  British  posses- 


16S 


THE  BOUNDARY  QUESTION 


sions,  passing  immediately  behind  Juneau  and  cut- 
ting both  Lynn  Canal  and  Glacier  Bay  from  Alaska, 
thence  in  a  northwestern  direction  until  it  reaches 
the  141st  meridian  at  Mount  St.  Flias. 

The  strip  of  territory  on  which  the  British  have 
fastened  their  eyes,  and  are  hoping  to  secure  by 
arbitration,  is  to  be  found  around  Juneau, 
Lynn  Canal,  and  the  Taku  inlet.  It  embraces  a 
territory  about  one  hundred  miles  square  and  in- 
cludes Glacier  Bay,  the  Chilkoot  Pass,  the  White 
Pass,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Taku  River,  which  form 
the  overland  routes  to  the  gold  fields.  The  British 
line  here,  as  claimed,  deflects  westward  38  degrees 
forty  minutes  north,  and  follows  due  west  until  the 
136  degree  of  west  longitude,  and  then  turns  south- 
westerly at  Mt.  St.  Elias,  where  it  follows  the  141st 
degree  of  longitude  north  to  the  frozen  seas.  If  the 
English  should  acquire  territory  on  Lynn  Canal  or 
Taku  inlet  they  would  without  a  doubt  monopolize 
the  trade  of  the  Yukon  country.  .This  they  even 
now  attempted  to  do  by  collecting  an  import  duty 
on  miners'  outfits  entering  the  territory  by  way  of 
the  pass.  The  business  men  f)f  the  Pacific  North- 
west in  the  United  States  liave  taken  the  matter  up, 
and  on  August  2,  18l)T,  the  Chaiiibft  of  Commerce 
of  Seattle,  passed  the  foUowhig  resolutinnt 

"Whereas, the  Treasury  depnrlincntof  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  has,  by  regulation,  pro- 
vided special  privileges  to  the  Canadian  Govern- 
ment by  estal)lisliiiig  vsub-ports  of  entry  at  the  so- 
called  ports  of  Dyea  and  Skaguay  Bay,  in  the  dli- 


mmmm 


THE  PROTEST  OF  SEATTLE 


163 


trict  of  Alaska,  and  by  granting  the  right  of  trans- 
porting Canadian  goods  in  bond  from  such  sub- 
ports,  through  American  Territory,  to  the  boundary 
line  of  Canada  without  payment  of  duty;  and 

"Whereas,  the  Canadian  government  has  pro- 
vided for  the  collection  of  duties  on  American  goods 
destined  for  the  Yukon,  including  miner's  individ- 
ual outfits,  and  has,  in  addition,  proposed  the  col- 
lection of  miners*  licenses  ar.d  heavy  royalties  on  the 
output  of  its  mines,  and  has  never  allowed  ruch 
privileges  as  special  ports  of  entry,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, as  in  the  case  of  Port  Simpson,  on  the  Skeene 
River,  has  closed  long  established  ports  of  entry  to 
prohibit  business  of  American  vessels;  and 

"Whereas,  the  Yukon  mines  have  largely  been 
discovered,  prospected  and  developed  by  the  hardy 
pioneers  of  the  United  States,  the  business  in  con- 
nection with  them  developed  by  its  merchants,  and 
•  the  means  of  access,  by  its  transportation  lines:  and 

"Whereas,  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  business 
of  Alaska  and  the  Yukon  River  country  Is  owned, 
controlled  and  transacted  by  citizens  of  the  United 
States  residing  in  the  States  of  Caiifornia,  Oregon 
and  Washington,  not  one  of  whom  has  asked  the 
granting  of  such  privileges ;  and 

"Whereas,  all  of  the  transportation  of  such  bus- 
iness has  been  handled  by  United  States  vessels, 
built  in  its  yards,  manned  by  its  citizens,  supplied 
with  provisions  and  fuel  by  its  merchants  and  pay- 
ing taxes  in  home  ports  of  the  United  States,  not 
one  of  the  owners  of  which  vessels  has  asked  the 


rsasfe.- 


164 


THE  PROTEST  OF  SEATTLE 


granting  of  such  privileges;  on  the  contrary  they 
have  protested  against  the  same ;  and, 

"Whereas,  there  are  no  settlements  at  Dyea  or 
Skaguay  Bay,  no  wharves,  landings,  or  Hghters  for 
landing  freight,  and  no  assurance  that  such  ports 
will  be  permanent  ports,  and  are  now  only  stretches 
of  sandy  beach;  and*, 

"Whereas,  there  are  no, records  in  the  govern- 
ment department  of  any  freight  passing  through 
said  points;  no  reports  or  recommendations  con- 
cerning said  ports;  no  survey  or  report  by  the 
Unied  States  coast  survey  that  such  points  are  suit- 
able places  for  landing;  no  request  by  or  from  any 
citizens  of  the  United  States  for  the  granting  of 
such  privileges,  but  the  same  were  granted  at  the 
sole  request  of  the  Canadian  Government  for  the 
sole  benefit  of  Canadian  citizens,  at  large  expense  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  and  to  the 
serious  detriment  of,  and  irreparable  damage  to»  the 
business  interests  of  *the  citizens  of  the  United 
States ;  and 

"Whereas,  the  granting  of  such  privileges  is 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  for  the  protection  of  domestic  commerce 
and  the  encouragement  of  its  merchant  marine,  and 
the  practical  effect  of  the  particular  privilege  now^ 
complained  of  is  to  permit  the  free  entry  into  the 
Yukon  country  of  Canadian  goods,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  levies  high  and  restrictive  duties  upon 
American  goods  for  the  same  region,  thereby  re- 
sulting in  the  loss  to  American  citizens  of  this 


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THE  PROTEST  OF  SEATTLE 


165 


rapidly  increasing  business  and  compelling  them  to 
become  silent,  but  powerless,  witnesses  to  the  reap- 
ing by  foreigners  of  the  rich  harvest  planted 
and  fostered  by  American  enterprise;  and 

"Whereas,  there  is  now  no  practicable  or  feas™ 
ible  route  to  these  regions  except  across  territory 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  which  fact  alone 
gives  us  the  key  to  the  door  of  equal  rights  and 
privileges;  and  the  revocation  of  the  particular  priv- 
ilege in  question  will  place  shippers  of  American 
goods  on  the  same  plane  or  level  with  shippers  of 
British  goods,  which  is  all  that  is  asked  by  Amer- 
ican shippers;  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
merchants  and  outshippers  of  Seattle,  that  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  be  requested  to  rescind  the 
regulation  providing  for  the  bonding  of  Canadian 
goods  in  transit  through  Alaska,  and  also  the  regu- 
lation establishing  sub-ports  of  entry  at  Dyea,  Skag- 
uay  Bay  and  Circle  City. 

"Resolved  further,  that  copies  of  these  resolutions 
be  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  to  our  senators  and 
representatives  in  congress,  with  a  request  to  said 
senators  and  representatives  to  use  their  utmost  en- 
deavors to  procure  the  rescision  of  the  regulations 
herein  referred  to,  and  the  establishment  of  such 
ports  of  entry  and  discharge  as  are  necessary  for 
the  business  of  this  country  only. 

"Resolved,  further,  that  copies  oi  these  resolu- 
tions be  furnished  the  daily  papers  of  the  city,  and 


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THE  PROTEST  OF  SEATTLE 


the  Associated  Press;  that  copies  be  sent  likewise 
to  the  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  cities  of  Port 
Townsend,  Tacoma,  Portland  and  San  Francisco, 
requesting  the  consideration  by  said  bodies  of  the 
subject  matter  of  these  resolutions,  and  that  they 
join  this  chamber  in  urging  the  matter  upon  the 
proper  authorities  until  the  desired  relief  shall  have 
been  obtained.         Respectfully  submitted. 

J.  T.  RONALD,  Chairman. 

J.  B.  MacDOUGALL, 

C  J.  SMITH, 

G.  W.  FISHER, 

THOMAS  W.  PROSCH,  Committee." 
These  resolutions  had  the  effect  of  making  the 
Canadian  government  a  little  more  reasonable,  and 
in  answer  to  a  query  by  the  United  States  Treasury 
Department  as  to  the  truth  of  the  statements  therein 
contained,  it  replied  hy  stating  that  the  orders  in  re- 
gard to  collection  of  duties  on  outfits  purchased  in 
the  United  States  would  be  modified.  Acting 
quickly  on  the  modified  order,  Collector  A.  R. 
Milne,  of  Victoria,  announced  that  "All  clothing 
necessary  and  a  reasonable  quantity  of  provisions 
would  be  admitted  free  of  duty."  This  modification 
was  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  the  merchants 
of  Washington,  Oregon  and  California  and  gives 
them  an  advantage  over  all  competitors  in  outfitting 
miners  for  the  Yukon  country. 

Those  who  landed  at  Dyea  and  Skaguay,  early  in 
the  stampede,  however,  were  obliged  to  pay  the  im- 
port duty  before  they  were  allowed  to  cross  the  pass. 


CANADIAN  GOV'T  ACTS  FAVORABLY    167 


As  yet  the  Canadian  government  has  not  signified 
its  intention  to  return  it. 

If  the  Canadian  government  keeps  faith  with  the 
United  States  and  construes  the  "necessary  provi- 
sions" in  as  liberal  a  manner  as  the  rigorous  climate 
of  the  Yukon  seems  to  demand,  all  will  perhaps  be 
well,  but  if  it  does  not  fulfill  its  promise  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  United  States  government,  it  may  yet 
find  that  we  hold  the  whip  hand.  The  United  States 
government  can  at  any  time  discontinue  the  sub- 
port  at  Dyea  which  will  prevent  all  vessels  flying 
a  foreign  flag  from  landing  there. 


mm 


• 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Women  Tell  of  Their  Adventures  in  the  YuEon — Btrs. 
Clarence  Berry's  Narrative — Fanning  Out  $7,000 
Pin  Money — Mrs.  Thomas  Lippy's  Letter— tA  Model 
Housewife  at  the  Diggings. 

In  this  frigid  region  there  were  but  few  women. 
In  fact  there  were  but  two  white  women  at  the 
mines.  These  were  Mrs.  Clarence  Berry  of  Fresno, 
CaUfornia,  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Lippy  of  Seattle, 
Washington.  They  resided,  when  at  the  mines, 
about  a  mile  apart  and  each  came  in  under  difficult 
circumstances. 

As  the  experiences  of  these  ladies  will  undoubtedly 
be  of  interest  to  everyone,,  especially  if  written  by 
themselves,  I  have  tSken  the  trouble  to  communi- 
cate with  them,  and  they  have  kindly  consented  to 
each  write  a  letter  especially  for  this  work. 

These  interesting  narratives  are  given  below. 
Letter  of  Mrs.  Clarence  Berry. 

"Fresno;  Cal.,  Aug.  30,  1897. 
Mr.  W.  M.  Stanley,  Seattle,  Wash., 

Dear  Sir: — I  am  in  receipt  oi  your  letter  of  16th 
inst.  in  which  you  request  me  to  write  a  letter  es- 
pecially for  a  work  which  you  are  publishing  rela- 
tive to  the  Klondyke  district  in  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory. You  state  that  you  think  such  a  letter  would 
be  of  interest  to  your  readers  and  will  be  especially 
appreciated  by  ladies  who  contemplate  a  journey 
into  these  gold  fields. 

(168) 


MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER 


169 


"It  will  give  me  pleasure  to  grant  this  request 
of  one  who  was  a  neighbor  in  that  dark,  dreary 
country,  and  if  I  can  entertain  or  instruct  your 
readers,  I  will  gladly  do  so.  Of  course,  I,  like  your- 
self, receive-  a  great  many  communications  from 
people  all  over  the  United  States,  asking  for  in- 
formation concerning  this  land  of  gold.  But,  as  it 
would  be  a  physical  impossibility  to  answer  all  these 
letters  I  have  not  attempted  to  do  so;  not  because  I 
have  any  objections  to  doing  so,  but  for  lack,  of  time. 
It  may  be  that  my  correspondents  will  see  these 
lines.  If  they  do,  I  hope  that  they  will  accept  this 
explanation  of  my  seeming  neglect,  and  will  regard 
this  letter  as  an  answer  to  their  inquiries. 

"In  this  letter,  I  will  not  attempt  to  advise  any 
v/oman  to  go  to  the  Klondyke  district.  Nor  will  I 
advise  them  to  stay  away,  but  will  content  myself 
with  relating  my  experiences,  together  with  a  de- 
scription of  life  in  this  strange  land. 

"I  would  not  go  again  myself,  though  I  am  glad 
that  I  had  the  experience.  It  was  well  worth  the 
hardships  that  I  was  obliged  to  endure ;  but  once  is 
enough.  When  Mr.  Berry  goes  back,  I  will  remain 
at  home  and  enjoy  this  beaty:iful  climate,  and  the 
comforts  which  our  good  fortune  in  the  North  has 
made  it  possible  for  us  to  obtain. 

"I  took  with  me  an  outfit  of  clothes  that  was 
made  especially  for  that  cold  climate.  It  does  not 
pay  to  take  anything  that  is  not  of  the  best  m.aterial, 
as  the  first  cost  is  but  slight  when  compared  with 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  getting  it  into  this  far- 


'.*> 
^i."«i 


170       MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER 

away  land.  One  doesn't  need  a  very  large  wardrobe 
and  it  is  best  to  take  no  more  than  is  absolutely 
necessary,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  getting  it  in. 
My  outfit  cost  but  about  $250.  It  included  three  suits 
of  everything  right  straight  through.  I  had  heavy 
woolen  underwear  and  knitted  hose,  also  of  wool. 
My  skirts  were  very  short,  coming  but  a  little  be- 
low my  knees.  I  had  a  heavy  fur  coat  of  marten, 
a  fur  cap,  fur  gloves,  and  a  very  heavy  shawl.  I 
wore  no  shoes  except  in  going  and  coming  to  and 
from  Juneau.  As  furs  cost  less  and  are  better  made 
up  here  than  in  Alaska  I  took  my  coat  from  the 
States.  We  obtained  a  fur  robe  from  a  man  who 
was  coming  out,  and  as  it  is  a  necessity  we  were 
glad  to  be  so  fortunate ;  it  is  well,  however,  to  take 
one  along.  The  fur  gloves  may  be  obtained  to 
better  advantage  up  there  than  here  and  cost  but 
from  $2  to  $4  a  pair.  Moccasins  take  the  place  of 
shoes  in  the  winter,  and  'muclucs*  are  the  best  foot 
v/ear  when  it  is  thawing  and  wet.  These  can  be  ob- 
tained at  the  mines  for  from  one. to  five  dollars.  The 
moccasins  are  made  of  fur  seal,  with  the  furry  side 
worn  next  to  the  person.  They  may  be  made  any 
length  and  are  sometimes  worn  long  enough  to 
reach  to  the  thigh.  They  are  drawn  on  like  a  boot, 
and  are  bound  with  Ihongs  from  the  instep  up  and 
are  tied  at  the  top  with  a  string,  which  laces  like  a 
shoe.  In  wet  weather  the  'mucluc*  is  worn.  The 
natives  make  these  waterproof  on  the  soles  by  dip- 
ping theri  in  seal  oil.  'Mucluc'  is  the  native  name 
and  signifies  in  English  *mud  moccasins.'    Keeping 


MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER 


171 


the  feet  warm  is  the  healthiest  protection,  and,  for 
that  reason,  in  addition  to  the  woolen  hose  and 
moccasins,  I  wore  also  flannel  insoles.  In  all  the 
time  I  was  in  Alaska  I  did  not  get  frost  bitten,  nor 
get  my  fingers  nor  my  nose  nipped.  I  had  a  well- 
stocked  medicine  chest  with  me,  though  I  had  but 
little  use  for  it,  very  much  to  my  satisfaction. 

"A  great  many  people  suffer  excessive  hardships 
in  that  country,  but  it  is  generally  owing  to  an  in- 
sufficient outfit  or  to  their  own  poor  cooking.  The 
men  are  not  much  at  cooking  up  there,  and  that  is 
one  reason  why  they  are  attacked  with  stomach 
troubles  and  scurvy.  After  a  man  has  worked  all 
day  in  the  diggings,  he  doesn't  feel  like  cooking  a 
nice  meal  when  he  goes  to  his  cabin,  cold,  weary  and 
hungry  and  finds  no  fire  in  the  stove  and  all  his 
food  frozen. 

"We  left  Juneau  in  March  1896,  accompanied  by 
several  friends.  We  had  a  dog  team  that  hauled  our 
suppHes  and  were,  therefore,  enabled  to  get  through 
without  much  suffering.  At  Juneau,  I  put  on  my 
Alaska  uniform,  the  heavy  flannels,  \.arm  dress 
with  short  skirt,  moccasins,  fur  coat,  cap  and  gloves, 
kept  my  shawl  handy  in  case  of  storms,  and  was 
wrapped  tight  in  a  fur  rug  and  bound  to  the  sled. 
I  got  many  a  tumble  in  the  snow  when  the  sled 
rolled  over  with  me. 

"The  supplies  for  Mr.  Berry  and  myself,  which  we 
procured  in  Juneau,  cost  about  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars and  weighed  about  a  ton.  We  did  not  confine 
ourselves  to  flour,  beans  and  bacon  alone,  but  had 


&v  &m 


172       MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER 


plenty  of  canned  meats,  hams,  dried  fruits  and  veget- 
ables, and  all  kinds  of  canned  fruits  besides.  In 
fact  we  arranged  for  as  wholesome  a  diet  as  it  was 
possible  to  take  in  with  us. 

"It  took  us  three  months  to  travel  from  Juneau 
to  Forty  Mile,  which  I  think  is  a  distance  of  about 
nine  hundred  miles.  Sometimes  we  traveled  fifteen 
miles  in  a  day,  but  ordinarily,  we  made  but  ten  or 
twelve.  The  dogs  could  not  stand  to  travel  more 
with  their  heavy  loads.  We  carried  our  own  stores 
up  to  the  summit  and  hired  Indians  to  take  it  from 
there  to  Lake  Lindeman.  We  had  fresh  moose  and 
cariboo  on  the  way.  At  first,  when  I  saw  the  dirty 
Indians  bringing  it  in  their  canoes,  I  would  not  eat 
it,  but  I  soon  changed  my  mind  and  got  to  like  it 
very  well  indeed.  We  prepared  our  meals  by  setting 
up  our  stove  right  on  the  ice,  sometimes  in  the  open 
air,  and  other  days  under  cover  of  our  tent.  At 
night,  we  pitched  our  tents,  made  a  bed  of  boughs, 
put  our  blankets  over  it,  covered  ourselves  with  the 
fur  robe  and  slept  very  well.  I  took  two  small  pil- 
lows and  four  pairs  of  heavy  blankets  with  me. 
Our  bedding  was  always  dry,  as  we  kept  it  packed 
in  an  oilskin  cover. 

"We  crossed  Lake  Le  Barge,  a  distance  of  thirty- 
six  miles  in  one  night,  which  was  the  best  time 
we  made  enroute.  They  pitched  the  tent  upon  the 
provision  scow,  and  I  slept  all  the  way  across.  We 
had  to  make  such  good  time  because  we  were  afraid 
that  the  ice  would  soon  begin  to  run.  We  had  a 
fine  sunshiny  day  to  cross  the  summit,  but  we  had 


MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER        173 

to  sit  still  and  wait  two  weeks  for  it.  We  got  to 
Forty  Mile  in  June,  but  in  October  returned  up 
the  Yukon  to  the  Klondyke.  I  stayed  at  the  trad- 
ing post  which  has  now  developed  into  a  city,  while 
the  boys  went  on  to  build  a  cabin.  The  cabin  was 
nineteen  miles  from  Dawson  City,  and  it  took  me 
two  days  hard  walking  to  cover  the  distance.  On 
the  ice  across  the  river,  there  was  about  an  inch  of 
water,  and  I  slipped  and  slid  in  every  direction. 
When  I  arrived  at  the  cabin  they  had  not  yet  gotten 
the  doors  or  windows  in,  nor  the  floor  laid,  so  I  had 
to  stand  around  outside  until  a  hole  was  cut  for  me 
to  get  in  through.  When  the  cabin  was  completed 
it  was  very  comfortable,  having  two  rooms  and  was 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  mansions  of  that  sec- 
tion. We  got  a  carpet  and  some  curtains  from 
Dawson  City  and  had  all  the  camp-made  furniture 
we  needed,  so  that  with  a  bed  of  boughs  and  stoves, 
we  were  well  fixed.  The  Alaska  stoves  are  narrov^r, 
long,  little  sheet-iron  afifairs,  with  two  holes  on  top, 
and  a  drum  to  bake  in.  The  fuel  wood  is  full  of 
pitch  and  is  knotty  and  scrubby.  If  you  turn  your 
back  on  the  fire  for  a  moment  it  burns  up  and  goes 
out.  The  water  we  used  we  obtained  by  thawing 
the  snow  and  ice;  when  we  wanted  to  drink,  we 
thawed  a  chunk  of  ice  and  then  cooled  the  water. 
We  kept  our  stores  in  the  cac  to  protect  them 
from  the  wild  beasts  and  dogs,  and  of  course,  they 
were  frozen  and  had  to  be  thawed  out  before  being 
cooked.  The  things  we  wanted  to  keep  from  freez- 
ing we  had  to  keep  warm  in  the  house.    We  had 


174       MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER 

some  wines  and  a  case  of  champagne  that  were  sent 
to  Us  for  Christmas,  which  I  kept  under  my  bedding 
to  save  them  from  freezing. 

"Of  course,  we  got  tired  of  the  canned  and  dried 
provisions,  but  they  were  a  great  deal  better  than 
nothing.  Occasionally  we  had  some  fresh  moose 
meat  and  even  some  beef,  as  a  herd  of  beef  cattle 
were  brought  in  over  the  pass  during  the  winter;  by 
the  way,  it  was  the  first  time  fresh  beef  had  ever 
been  obtained  in  the  Interior.  We  had  a  nice  roast 
for  our  Nev  Year's  dinner,  and  a  fruit  cake,  mince 
pie,  nuts  and  raisins,  in  addition  to  the  usual  dried 
and  canned  fruits  and  vegetables. 

"The  men  had  a  hard  time  making  bread,  and  I 
taught  several  of  them  how  to  make  yeast  bread. 
We  could  get  hops  arid  canned  potatoes,  and  it  was 
easy  enough  to  make  yeast.  But  how  I  did  long 
for  a  raw  potato  or  anything  fresh  and  green. 

I  was, when  I  returned,  twenty-five  pounds  heav- 
ier than  when  I  went  in.  I  was  not  sick,  except  by 
slight  indispositions,  all  the  time  I  was  there.  Every 
day,  when  I  had  finished  my  house-work,  I  would 
go  out  on  the  dumps  and  hunt  for  nuggets,  or  else 
I  would  pan  gold.  At  first  I  would  lose  half  the 
gold  but  after  a  while  I  learned  to  get  it  all  out  of 
the  dirt.  I  would  have  to  melt  ice  in  order  to  get 
water  for  the  purpose  of  panning.  Out  of  one  pan, 
I  washed  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  dollars.  The 
gold  that  I  took  out  in  this  manner  amounted  to 
about  seven  thousand  dollars.    We  did  not  lack  for 


MRS.  CLARENCE  BERRY'S  LETTER        176 


visitors  there.  Even  before  we  had  a  table  to  eat 
from,  we  had  nine  to  luncheon.  We  had  some 
one  staying  at  our  house  nearly  every  night,  as 
passers-by  had  to  have  shelter. 

"Eight  months  of  the  year  it  is  very  dark  on  the 
Klondyke,  with  only  about  four  hours  light  each 
day.  There  is  a  long  twilight,  but  we  had  to  light 
the  lamps  at  half-past  one  or  two  in  the  afternoon. 
We  had  oil  lamps  but  candles  were  generally  used. 

"In  the  winter, the  Yukon  country  is  very  healthy, 
especially  for  one  going  there  with  sound  health; 
but  when  summer  comes,  it  is  damp,  the  water  is 
bad,  and  the  climate  very  unhealthy.  The  air  gets 
very  hot  and  the  mosquitoes  are  cruelly  bad. 

"Coming  away  from  the  mines,  we  arrived  at 
Dawson  City  in  one  night.  Notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  I  wore  a  skirt  only  to  my  knees,  I  was 
covered  with  mud  to  my  waist. 

"When  I  came  through  Dawson  City,  it  was  in 
such  a  rowdy  state,  that  I  had  to  have  my  meals 
sent  to  me.  Men  and  \»romen — ^^there  were  about 
fifty  women  there — conducted  themselves  shock- 
ingly and  were  carousing  continually.  About  the 
worst  people  on  earth  followed  close  upon  the  heels 
of  these  steady,  hard-working  miners. 

"Of  course  the  rich  claims  around  Dawson  City 
are  all  staked,  but  women  who  are  young  and  have 
a  hardy  constitution  might  do  well  in  this  isolated 
place,  if  they  were  accompanied  by  relatives  or 
friends. 


176 


MRS.  THOMAS  LIPPY'S  LETTER 


"Hoping  that  the  above  information  will  be  of 
value  to  your  readers,  I  remain, 

"Yours  respectfully, 

"Mrs.  Clarence  Berry, 
"Fresno,  Cal." 

Letter  of  Mrs.  Thomas  Lippy. 

"Seattle,  Wash.,  Aug.  15,  1897. 
Mr.  v.  M.  Stanley,  Seattle,  Wash., 

Dear  Sir: — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter,  wherein 
you  ask  me  to  write  a  communication  to  be  printed 
along  with  your  work  on  the  Klondyke.  I  will  be 
glad  to  accommodate  you,  though  I  fear  that  I  can- 
not write  anything  that  is  new,  or  interesting.  How- 
ever, since  you  think  that  your  readers  would  ap- 
preciate it,  I  will  try.  I  have  been  appealed  to  by  a 
great  many  strangers  for  information  concerning 
the  Yukon  mining  camps,  much  of  which  I  could 
not  furnish  on  account  of  the  lack  of  time.  As  you 
suggest  I  might  use  this  means  of  answering  all 
these  communications  at  once,  which  would  relieve 
me  of  a  great  deal  of  labor,  though  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  answer  all  these  letters  separately. 

"Our  claim  is  No.  16  on  Eldorado  Creek  in  the 
Klondyke  district  and  is  very  rich.  It  is,  however, 
very  hard  work  to  get  the  gold  from  the  ground. 

"As  we  went  by  steamer  from  St.  Michael's,  we 
did  not  have  as  hard  a  trip  as  those  going  over  the 
pass.  I  was  the  first  white  woman  on  the  creek  and 
the  first  to  cross  the  divide  between  the  Yukon 
River  and  Bonanza  Creek. 


«ff 


MRS.  THOMAS  LIPPY'S  LETTER 


177 


"We  did  not  know  exactly  what  we  had  to  face, 
though  we  are  by  no  means  sorry  that  we  went. 
The  country  can  hardly  be  described,  and  the  man- 
ner of  living  is  very  crude  indeed.  Om  ^n  hardly 
realize  what  this  life  is  without  experiei  cmg  it.  Be- 
fore we  started,  we  learned  ever  t  ling  we  could 
pT)  ic  the  routes,  the  country,  and  the  manner  of 
living,  which  gave  us  an  advantage  over  those  who 
were  entirely  ignorant  on  these  points.  We  took 
with  us  a  year's  provisions  and  v/ere  therefore  better 
situated  than  many  others.  There  were  nine  or  ten 
wom'^n  at  Forty  Mile,  but  they  were  mostly  hard 
characters.  Mrs.  Berry  of  Fresno,  California,  lived 
but  a  mile  from  us  and  was  the  only  other  white 
woman  in  the  camp.  She  and  I  were  company  for 
each  other,  though  we  could  not  visit  a  great  deal, 
on  account  of  the  extremely  cold  weather.  When 
we  first  arrived  at  Eldorado  Creek,  we  had  no  house 
to  live  in  and  were  therefore  obliged  to  live  in  a  tent 
until  we  had  our  cabin  completed.  It  is  eighteen 
feet  long,  twelve  feet  wide,  and  eight  logs  high. 
The  roof  is  made  from  moss  and  mud,  and  the 
openings  between  the  logs  chinked  with  moss.  It 
has  one  door  and  one  window,  but  withal  it  is  a  very 
comfortable  residence  in  that  climate. 

"Our  furniture  was  home  made;  as  the  material 
was  hardly  qualified  for  cabinet  work,  it  was  quite 
rough,  though  it  answered  the  purpose.  We  had  a 
table,  some  stools  and  a  bed,  and  a  few  other  little 
things,  which  were  more  useful  than  elegant.  We 
had  a  regular  Yukon  stove  made  of  sheet-iron,  and 


H 


178 


MRS.  THOMAS  LIPPY'S  LETTER 


with  these  the  cabin  was  very  cosy  and  warm.  I 
did  the  housework  and  Mr.  Lippy  did  the  mining. 

"We  had  no  Tresh  milk,  meats,  fruits,  eggs  or 
vegetables,  but  we  had  plenty  of  canned  goods,  some 
even  that  I  never  knew  before  could  be  canned. 
With  these  we  made  out,  though  we  did  long  for 
something  fresh. 

"Everyone^  here  is  so  busy  that  they  nave  no  time 
for  amusements.  I,  for  my  part,  had  all  I  could  do 
in  looking  after  my  housework  and  keeping  the 
cabin  clean  and  comfortable  for  Mr.  Lippy,  when  he 
came  in,  tired  and  cold.  We  d"d  not  do  very  much 
visiting,  though  we  had  quite  a  good  deal  of  com- 
pany. When  night  came,  or  rather  when  the  day's 
work  was  completed,  for  it  was  night  most  of  the 
time,  we  were  too  tired  to  think  of  amusement,  and 
were  well  content  to  retire. 

"Of  course,  preparing  food  is  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  as  even  the  water  that  was  used  had  to  be 
made  by  thawing  ice.  The  food  itself  had  to  be 
thawed  before  we  could  take  it  from  the  cans.  The 
cold  weather  made  baking  rather  difficult,  as  it  is 
necessary  to  keep  the  dough  close  to  the  fire  in 
order  to  have  it  rise.  Mr.  Lippy  always  enjoyed  a 
good  appetite,  which  is  a  great  help  in  maintaining 
one's  strength. 

"Fortunately,  I  enjoyed  good  health  during  the 
entire  trip.  My  only  ailments  being  an  occasional 
attack  of  the  headache  or  toothache.  We  were  for- 
tunate in  every  way,  having  been  successful  beyond 
our  most  ardent  expectations.    In  winter,  the  mer- 


MIlS.  THOMAS  LiPI^Y'S.  LETTER 


m 


cury  is  always  below  zero,  sometimes  reaching  ev_n 
sixty  below.  In  summer,  however,  the  country  is 
very  beautiful  and  quite  warm,  but  the  mosquitoes 
are  very  thick.  I  went  out  every  day,  but  when  the 
snow  was  on  the  ground,  I  did  not  go  far  from  the 
cabin. 

"In  summer  I  dressed  very  much  as  I  do  in. 
Seattle,  but  in  the  winter  I  dressed  more  warnny 
and  wore  fur  boots  and  even  a  fur  cap  constantly. 

"I  would  not  care  to  advise  any  woman  to  go  to 
this  country.  Neither  will  I  advise  any  one  to  stay 
away.  If  a  woman  goes,  however,  she  should  be 
careful  to  take  with  her  proper  clothing,  and  should 
be  accompanied  by  some  relative.  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  many  women  will  do  well  there.  But  the 
hardships  to  be  endured  are  such  that  great  suc- 
cess alone  will  recompense  one  for  making  this 
arduous  journey.  Hoping  that  these  few  lines  will 
be  of  interest  to  your  readers  and  that  your  work 
will  be  a  success,  I  am     Very  respectfully, 

Mrs.  Thomas  Lippy." 


.t  n 


CHAPTER  XX. 


The  Route  to  Dawson  City— The  Principal  Trans- 
portation Companies  Over  the  All- Water  Boute,  via 
St.  Michael's— The  White  ?ass  Route,  From  Skag- 
uay  Bay— A  Simple,  hut  Eloquent  Letter  by  a 
Sturdy  Prospector. 

The  route  to  the  Yukon  gold  fields  by  way  of 
Dyea  is  perhaps  the  best  for  the  man  who  can  en- 
dure hardships  and  who  has  not  the  money  to  pay 
for  the  luxurious  trip  by  way  of  St.  Michael's. 

Since  the  return  of  the  steamers  "Portland"  and 
"Excelsior,"  a  great  many  horses,  mules  and  burros 
have  been  shipped  in  by  way  of  the  pass  and  an 
attempt  has  been  made  to  open  a  trail  through 
White  pass  to  the  head  of  Lake  Bennett.  This — 
when  completed — will  make  the  journey  very  much 
easier  and  will  shorten  the  time  required  in  making 
the  trip.  In  the  rush,  however,  chances  will  have 
to  be  taken  on  getting  through.  The  number  of 
pack  animals  that  have  been  taken  in  will  not  be 
sufficient  to  handle  all  the  supplies  immediately  on 
their  arrival.  The  first  who  can  get  the  services  of 
these  animals  will  be  the  lucky  ones  and  will  reach 
the  gold  fields  in  a  great  deal  shorter  time  than  we 
were  able  to  make.  The  summit  here  is  level  and 
covered  with  grass  and  timber  suitable  for  all  pur- 
poses. The  grade  from  the  summit  to  Lake  Ben- 
nett is  but  about  twenty-five  feet  to  the  mile.    The 

(180) 


» 


w 


^ 


*"i-^m^mm^mm 


mmmi 


THE  ROUTES  TO  THE  GOLD  DISTRICT   181 

distance  from  tidewater  to  the  head  of  Lake  Bennett 
is  but  thirty-five  miles. 

Another  leading  route  is  by  way  of  St.  Michael's 
which  is  three  thousand  miles  from  Seattle.  At 
present  there  are  three  companies  operating  trans- 
portation lines  by  this  route.  The  North  American 
Transportation  and  Trading  Company,  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  and  the  Seattle  and  Yukon 
Commercial  Company.  The  fare  from  Seattle  to 
Dawson  City  is  $200.00.  Passengers  are  allowed  to 
carry  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  baggage,  con- 
sisting of  only  clothing.  No  supplies  can  be  carried 
by  passengers  but  the  company  will  sell  them  outfits 
on  their  arrival  at  Dawson  City.  The  Seattle  and 
Yukon  Commercial  Company,  however,  in  addition 
to  the  baggage  will  carry  one  thousand  pounds  of 
supplies  to  each  passenger  and  land  it  at  Dawson 
City  for  ten  cents  per  pound.  A  number  of  other 
companies  with  olenty  of  capital  are  organizing, 
this  winter,  and  there  will  no  doubt  be,  within  the 
next  year,  ample  transportation  facilities  at  lower 
rates. 

At  St.  Michaers,  passengers  and  baggage  are 
transferred  to  the  river  boats  which  are  flat  bot- 
tomed and  fitted  with  powerful  machinery  especially 
adapted  to  navigate  the  swift,  shallow  portions  of 
the  Yukon.  The  distance  by  these  boats  from  St. 
Michael's  to  Dawson  City  is  about  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles.  The  whole  trip  requires  about 
forty  days  providing  close  connections  can  be  made 
at  St.  Michael's.  Another  route  is  from  Juneau  and 


182  THE  ROUTES  TO  THE  GOLD  DISTRICT 

up  the  Stickeen  River  where  a  portage  can  be  made, 
crossing  to  Teslin  Lake  and  from  there  down  the 
Hootalinqua  River,  which  forms  a  junction  with 
Thirty  Mile  Rever  below  Lake  Le  Barge.  This 
route,  however,  has  been  but  little  traveled,  though 
gold  has  been  dug  on  the  Tahn  as  far  back  as  1881. 
Steamers  are  now  being  built  at  Seattle  to  navigate 
over  this  route  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  this 
will  become  quite  a  highway  within  the  next  year. 

An  English  company  have  completed  a  prelimin- 
ary survey  for  a  route  partly  by  rail  and  partly  by 
steamer.  The  survey,  as  made,  contemplates  a  rail- 
road from  Skaguay  Bay  or  Dyea  by  way  of  the 
White  Pass  to  the  head  of  Lake  Tagish,  a  distance 
of  about  forty  miles.  Here  a  line  of  steamers  will 
be  put  on  which  will  run  across  Lake  Tagish  and 
pass  into  Lake  Atlin  by  way  of  Three  Mile  River. 
Then  a  transfer  v/ill  be  made  by  rail  to  Teslin  Lake, 
the  head  waters  of  the  Hootalinqua  River,  a  distance 
of  about  thirty-five  miles.  From  here  a  river  steam- 
boat can  navigate  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon,  a  dis- 
tance, approximately,  of  two  thousand  five  hundred 
miles,  passing  down  the  Hootalinqua  into  the  Lewis 
River  and  by  the  Lewis  into  the  Yukon,  then  down 
the  Yukon,  making  Fort  Selkirk,  Sixty  Mile,  Daw- 
son City,  Cudahy,  Circle  City,  Forty  Mile  and  in 
fact  all  the  river  points.  Connections  could  be  made 
with  steamers  on  the  Stewart,  Pelly,  McMillen,  Por- 
cupine, Koyukuk,  Birch,  Klanarcharkut,  Beaver, 
Innoko,  Tanana  and  Andreafski  Rivers  and  Skag- 
luk  Slough,  all  of  which  are  navigable  for  a  distance 


THE  ROUTES  TQ.  THE  G6LD  DISTRICT   183 

of  from  twenty-five  miles,  on  the  Klanarchargut,  to 
five  hundred  miles,  on  the  Stewart. 

A  four  hundred  ton  vessel  of  light  draft  can  as- 
cend the  Yukon  one  thousand  nine  hundred  miles, 
but  a  boat  with  machinery  powerful  enough  to  drive 
it  through  Five  Fingers,  of  light  draft  and  not  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  burden,  could  reach 
the  head  of  Teslin  Lake.  The  Pelly,  Andreafski  and 
Innoko  Rivers  and  Shagluk  Slough  are  navigable 
for  fifty  miles,  Beaver  Creek  and  Porcupine  River 
one  hundred,  Tanana  and  Koyukuk  Rivers  three 
hundred,  Birch  Creek  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  the 
McMillan  River  two  hundred  miles.  Still  another 
company  is  organized  who  will  run  a  pack  train 
from  tide  water  at  Dyea  to  Lake  Bennett  by  way 
of  the  Chilkoot  Pass.  From  there,  steamboats  will 
be  used  to  convey  passengers  and  supplies  to  Daw- 
son City.  They  will  make  a  portage  around  the 
parts  of  the  river  that  are  not  navigable  and  thus 
keep  their  steamers  plying  between  the  obstructions. 
All  of  these  routes  are  practicable,  but  when  the 
first  rush  is  over,  the  regular  and  popular  line  of 
travel  will  probably  be  by  way  of  St.  Michael's,  as  it 
is  a  water  route  all  the  way  and  competition  will 
be  likely  to  bring  the  rates  within  reasonable 
bounds.  A  great  many  years,  however,  will  elapse 
before  it  will  be  possible  to  travel  to  the  Klondyke 
in  safety  and  comfort.  The  rigorous  climat(i  is  a 
serious  drawback,  and  no  line  of  transportation  can 
be  depended  upon  for  more  than  a  few  months  dur- 
ing the  year.     The  snow  will  bury  the  railroad 


^ 

J 


Id4  THE  ROUTES  TO  THE  COLD  DISTRICT 

tracks,  and  the  steamers  are  frozen  in  from  seven  to 
nine  months  out  of  the  twelve.  Capital  therefore 
will  be  shy  of  investing  in  a  proposition  that  includes 
not  only  long  yearly  periods  of  idleness  but  large 
expenses  incurred  in  protecting  property  during  the 
long,  dark  wintet*  months.  Not  until  airships  are 
rendered  practical,  can  one  expect  to  make  the 
journey  without  many  hardships,  and  supplies  will 
always  be  high.  There  seems,  however,  to  be  a  dif- 
ference c  opinion  in  regard  to  the  White  Pass.  As 
I  have  never  traveled  over  it  I  will  not  attempt  to 
say  on  my  own  responsibility  just  what  the  con- 
ditions are.  Appended,  however,  are  two  letters 
written  from  the  pass  which  I  give  by  consent  of  the 
recipients.  They  are  both  written  by  men  of  con- 
siderable popularity  in  the  Sound  country  and  may 
be  accepted  as  authentic. 

"Skaguay,  Friday,  July  30, 1897. 
"My  Dear  Inverarity: — ^The  steamer  'Mexico* 
has  just  arrived  in  the  bay  and  she  is  black  with 
people.  We  reached  here  last  Monday  and  are 
camped  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  wharf;  they  are 
unloading  our  outfits  now,  all  mixed  up.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty  tons  are  on  the  wharf,  out  on  the  bay, 
and  no  road  to  it.  We  had  to  take  lighters  to  get  it 
ashore  and  had  it  all  piled  up  in  a  heap;  then  we  had 
to  pay  a  dollar  a  load  to  get  it  off  the  lighters  onto 
the  shore.  It  is  the  greatest  jam  you  ever  saw.  I 
got  my  goods  all  right,  only  losing  one  sack  of 
beans.  Some  lost  their  entire  outfits,  tent,  grub 
and  all.    A  great  many  have  left  here  and  gone  to 


D.  J.  M'KINNEY'S  LETTER 


185 


Dyea  to  try  that  pass  (the  Ghilkoot).  This  trail  is 
not  nearly  completed  yet,  and  no  pack  animals  here 
of  any  consequence.  I  am  waiting  to  hear  from  the 
men  we  sent  out  before  making  a  move  of  any  kind. 
'It  is  about  forty-two  miles  to  Lake  Bennett  from 
here. 

"I  went  up  the  trail  three  miles  this  morning, 
and  such  a  pitiful  sight  it  was,  to  see  men  tired  out, 
footsore  and  their  backs  raw  from  packing.  Some 
are  giving  it  up  in  despair.  It  is  too  bad.  Boys, 
clerks,  lawyers,  and  doctors  all  in  the  common  herd 
— and  now  comes  another  rush  on  the  'Mexico.'  I 
hope  there  will  be  plenty  of  horses  on  her  or  we 
are  doomed  to  winter  here  and  wait  till  we  can  get 
over  on  the  snow.  They  are  charging  seventeen 
cents  a  pound  to  the  summit — nineteen  miles — and 
when  a  man  gets  there  they  will  charge  him  seven- 
teen cents  a  pound  to  the  lake.  Some  have  gone  out 
part  of  the  way  and  then  come  back  again  and  gone 
around  to  Dyea. 

"Every  move  costs  money,  so  I  let  them  all  worry 
and  just  sit  in  camp  and  await  developments.  We 
can  live  for  about  fifteen  cents  a  day.  Some  are  pay- 
ing one  cent  a  pound  to  have  their  goods  hauled 
three  miles ;  that  would  mean  forty  dollars ;  then  they 
turn  around  and  pay  forty  dollars  to  get  back ;  then 
they  pay  ten  dollars  a  thousand  to  be  taken  to  Dyea. 
There  are  two  two-horse  wagons  here,  and  they  are 
making  sixty  to  eighty  dollars  a  day,  and  they 
charge  just  what  they  please.  Some  have  spent 
one  hundred  dollars  already  with  no  results,  and  are 


i 


I 


186 


HARD  TIMES  AT  SKAGUAY 


discouraged  and  tired  out.  Everybody  has  rushed 
off  to  the  steamer,  and  I  am  looking  out  for  our 
camp  and  fighting  mosquitoes.  An  Indian  just 
came  to  me  and  wanted  nineteen  cents  a  pound  to 
put  me  over  the  Dyea  trail,  and  it  is  blocked  for 
twelve  miles.  This  is  going  to  be  a  great  place  to 
make  money. 

"George  Rice  is  here  with  a  pack  train  and  I  have 
engaged  him  a  month  ahead  at  seventeen  cents  a 
pound.  If  I  had  fifty  horses  here  with  saddles  I 
could  make  ten  thousand  dollars  this  fall,  but  it 
would  be  too  late  after  this  steamer.  If  the 
'Islander'  does  not  bring  about  two  hundred  horses 
everyone  will  have  to  wait  for  snow.  The  crowd 
elected  me  chief  of  police  the  day  we  arrived,  and  I 
was  up  two  nights  and  days  without  sleep  or  any 
chance  to  get  any  until  everything  was  carried  away 
from  the  beach.  Yours  truly,  etc., 

D.  J.  McKlNNEY. 

"I  have  now  been  here  two  days  and  this  is  the 
first  moment  I  have  had  to  spare.  Capt.  Irving  has 
treated  us  very  well,  extending  every  aid  in  his 
power.  We  have  just  finished  discharging  the  cargo 
of  the  boat.  I  have  acted  as  checker,  and  we  have 
handled  something  like  three  thousand  or  four  thou- 
sand pieces  of  freight  to-day.  I  had  only  tw^o  hours' 
sleep  last  night,  as  we  were  organizing  for  dis- 
charging to-day. 

"After  much  discussion  we  have  concluded  to  at- 
tempt the  Skaguay  (White)  Pass.  It  is  longer  than 
the  Dyea  route,  but  about  one  thousand  two  hun- 


HORSES  BADLY  NEEDED 


187 


dred  to  one  thousand  five  hundred  feet  lower.  We 
are  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  not  having  horses; 
but  as  we  have  a  good  stock  of  grit  as  well  as  pro- 
visions we  hope  to  be  among  the  few  who  will  get 
in  this  winter.  You  can  form  no  adequate  idea  of 
the  great  hardships  that  are  to  be  encountered  in 
going  over  the  mountains,  especially  for  those  with- 
out horses.  It  is  a  fact  that  many  are  backing  out 
and  returning  home.  It  is  estimated  that  not  more 
than  one  fourth  of  those  who  came  this  fall  will  get 
over.  We  confidently  hope  to  be  among  those 
who  are  fortunate.  The  Skaguay  trail  is  hardly 
yet  completed,  and  no  one  has  yet  made  the  trip 
that  way.  I  know  several  Seattle  boys  who,  it  is 
stated,  have  grown  faint-hearted,  but,  will  not  men- 
tion their  names,  for  you  will  see  them  in  due  ♦^'^ne. 
Everyone  is  reducing  his  stock  of  provisions,  as  no 
one  thinks  he  will  get  over  the  pass  with  his  com- 
plete outfit  before  winter  sets  in. 

"There  was  so  much  freight  that  the  Seattle 
boys  who  patronized  the  Islander'  had  to  let  their 
outfits  follow  on  the  steamer  Tees,'  which  is  a 
slower  boat,  and  has  just  arrived  with  our  stuff, 
which  we  will  take  off  to-morrow.  One  thing  is 
sure:  we  will  have  to  pay  Her  Majesty  duty  on  our 
provisions,  also  clothing,  for  the  collector  came  with 
us.  Duty  will  amount  to  from  twenty  to  thirty^five 
per  cent.  (The  writer  was  happily  mistaken. — W. 
M.  S.) 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Earlier  Stampedes  to  the  Northers.  Gk>ld  Fields — Fa- 
mous Australian  Discoveries — An  Arizona  Miner 
on  the  Yukon  in  1852 — The  Marvelous  Success 
of  Young  Henry  Bore — From  Want  to  Affluence — ^A 
Grateful  Heart. 

Since  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  a  series 
of  mining  excitements  have  passed  over  this  coun- 
try, until  the  line  from  Mexico  to  Alaska  has  been 
explored  and  proved  to  conlain  many  valuable  min- 
ing properties. 

The  first  stampede  in  the  Northwest  was  to  the 
valleys  of  the  Klamath,  the  Columbia  and  the  Fraser 
and  finally  the  Cariboo,  Peace  and  Stickeen  rivers 
were  prospected  and  proved  more  or  less  valuable, 
and  now  the  valley  of  the  Yukon  is  added  to  the 
list.  Tliousands  have  flocked  to  this  river  and  its 
tributaries,  have  been  successful  and  made  fortunes 
but  the  majority,  aftt^  various  hardships  and  trials, 
came  back  poorer  than  hey  went. 

Part  of  the  army  of  would-be-gold-finders  that 
went  to  California  in  1849  also  meandered  into  Ore- 
gon where  rich  gold  discoveries  were  made  in  and 
about  Jacksonville,  and  then  the  miners  pursued 
their  way  to  the  Columbia,  Idaho  and  Montana,  the 
Columbia  bemg  the  only  means  of  access,  in  those 
days,  to  these  isolated  territories.  At  Salmon  River, 
Oro  Fino  and  many  other  localities,  valuable  claims 
were  discovered.    Also  in  Montana  and  the  Bitter 

(188) 


FORMER  GOLD  STAMPEDES 


189 


Root  Mountains  was  the  precious  metal  found. 
About  this  time,  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation 
Company  was  incorporated  and  Ladd,  Reed,  Ains- 
worth,  Thompson,  Camm  and  others  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  their  fortunes.  In  1856,  the  Fraser  River 
excitement  broke  out  in  which  a  few  secured  riches 
but  a  greater  number  suffered  disaster;  and  prob- 
ably all  who  took  part  in  that  great  rush  and  ex- 
citement heartily  wish  that  the  country  may  never 
see  such  another.  The  excitement  infected  people 
all  over  the  coast  and  they  thronged  in  crowds  to 
Victoria — then  a  Fort  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany. Hardly  any  of  them  knew  where  the  Fraser 
River  was  situated  or  how  they  could  reach  it. 
There  were  no  steamers  running  on  the  Fraser  and 
hardly  any  from  Victoria  to  the  Fraser.  The  few 
boats  and  dug-outs  could  take  only  a  small  number 
of  the  people  who  wished  tO'  go ;  and  still  the  crowds 
thronged  into  Victoria,  until,  on  July  4, 1858,  it  was 
estimated  that  fifty  thousand  people  were  there. 
Gold  was  found  all  along  the  river,  from  fifty  miles 
above  its  mouth  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  a  dis- 
tance of  six  hundred  miles,  and  atX!ariboo,  diggings 
as  rich  as  those  at  the  Klondyke  were  reported. 
Later  there  we:  "*  rushes  to  Ominica,  Peace  River 
and  many  other  listricts.  The  last  and  most  dis- 
astrous rush  was  to  the  Stickeen  River,  in  1875. 
Hundreds  plodded  their  way  home  from  that  inhos- 
pitable region,  bare-footed,  ragged  and  starving. 

At  that  same  time,  gold  was  discovered  in  Aus- 
tralia.   In  '51  and  '53  there  had  been  a  wild  rush 


V .  ':■ 


:<^^ 


190    RUSH  TO  AUSTRALIA  IN  THE  FIFTIES 

to  Ballarat  and  at  the  end  of  '52  seven  thousand 
persons  mining  in  that  district  turned  out  sixteen 
million  dollars  worth  of  gold.  In  1856,  rich 
mines  were  discovered  in  New  Zealand.  Many 
of  the  Californian  miners  went  to  Australia 
and  vice  versa.  The  largest  nuggets  ever  dis- 
covered were  found  in  Australia.  The  nugget 
which  they  called  "Sarah  Sands"  weighed  two  hun- 
dred and,  eighty-three  pounds  Troy,  others  weighed 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  and  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  pounds  and  a  nugget  exhibited  at  the 
Paris  exposition  was  worth  about  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

Indications  of  gold  have  been  found  in  almost 
every  portion  of  the  world.  It  has  been  sought 
after  and  valued  as  far  back  as  the  memory  of  man 
runneth  not  to  the  contrary.  Idols  composed  of  it 
have  been  made  by  the  heathen  nations.  The  Israel- 
ites worshipped  it  in  the  form  of  a  calf  and  their 
temple  contained  large  amounts  of  the  precious 
metal.  The  Spaniards  thirsted  for  it  when  they  dis- 
covered America.  Cortez  found  it  in  Mexico;  Piz- 
arro  found  it  in  Peru  where  he  persuaded  the  Ynca 
Emperor,  Atahualpa  to  collect  some  $15,000,000 
worth  for  him,  after  which  he  killed  the  poor  young 
prince. 

The  history  of  the  discovery  and  gathering  of 
gold,  in  all  times  and  in  all  ages,  is  doubtless  the 
same ;  a  few  get  rich  while  many  others  secure  only 
disease  or  starvation  or  death. 

The  stories  of  the  richness  of  the  Klondyke  are 


*  > 


OLD   TIMES   ON   THE  YUKON 


191 


doubtless  as  nearly  true  as  can  be  expected.  In 
the  history  of  the  various  gold  excitements  it  has 
always  seemed  as  if  distance  lent  enchantment;  the 
farther  the  mines  were,  the  richer  they  seemed  to 
be.  California  was  a  wild  and  unsettled  region 
when  the  hardy  miners  poured  in  in  search  of  the 
yellow  metal.  The  Fraser  ran  through  a  wild  and 
inhospitable  country  when  the  miners  forced  their 
way  up  in  canoes  and  dugouts ;  but  of  all  those,  the 
Klondyke  region  is  the  most  remote  from  civiliza- 
tion, the  most  utterly  isolated,  uninhabitable,  barren 
and  desolate,  and  its  climate  the  most  unfavorable 
and  insalubrious  of  all  the  various  regions  where 
signs  of  the  precious  metal  have  been  discovered. 

A  fragment  of  personal  history  is  given  by  W. 
B.  Moore,  of  Spokane,  Washington,  who  was 
among  the  first  to  enter  the  wilderness.  This  short 
account  of  his  trip  will,  no  doubt,  be  of  interest  to 
the  reader  from  the  fact  that  it  describes  the  Yukon 
country  as  it  was  fifteen  years  ago. 

"We  left  Tombstone,  Arizona,  on  May  25,  1882, 
and  went  by  steamer  to  Juneau.  It  was  then  a  town 
of  not  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and  they 
were  just  prospecting  the  Treadwell  ground  with  a 
five-stamp  mill.  We  could  not  get  any  bacon  there, 
so  we  took  ample  flour,  beans,  rice  and  oatmeal,  but 
had  no  fruit  or  vegetables,  except  fifty  pounds  of 
dried  fruit,  all  there  was  in  Juneau.  We  went  in 
canoes  to  Chilkoot,  at  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal, 
where  we  completed  our  outfit  at  the  store. 

"There  was  no  good  trail  then,  the  only  one 


192 


OLD  TIMES  ON  THE  YUKON 


having  been  made  by  the  Indiajis;  it  followed  the 
streams,  so  that  we  were  in  water  most  of  the  way. 
The  trip  over  the  pass  was  very  hard,  for  we  had  to 
climb  much  of  the  way  over  glaciers.  It  took  one 
hundred  and  th'.teen  Indians  to  pack  our  outfit 
over  the  pass  and  it  cost  us  fourteen  cents  a  pound. 
We  took  whipsaws  with  us  and  built  two  boats, 
which  we  floated  down  the  Yukon  to  Fort  Reli- 
ance where  we  wintered,  rem.aining  in  the  country 
thirteen  months.  We  unloaded  half  our  cargo  at 
the  Canyon  and  ran  through  it  all  right,  then  made 
a  portage  at  Whit^'  Horse  Rapids.  Our  {  irty  gave 
its  name  to  the  'Five  Fingers,'  which  are  five  rocks 
standing  across  the  river  like  the  five  fingers  of  the 
hand.  . 

"The  Indians  said  we  were  the  first  white  men 
they  had  seen  come  down  the  river  since  they  de- 
stroyed Fort  Reliance  sixty  years  ago,  and  the 
younger  Indians  had  never  seen  a  white  man.  The 
only  white  men  we  found  on  the  river  were  Jack 
McQuestion,  after  whom  McQuestion  Creek  was 
named,  John  Harper,  Al  Mayo  and  Mercier,  a 
brother  of  the  former  premier  of  Canada.  They 
were  on  the  river  when  the  United  States  bought 
Alaska,  and  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company 
bought  them  out  and  hired  them  as  traders,  Mc- 
Question at  Fbrt  Reliance,  Mercier  at  Fort  Yukon 
and  Harper  and  Mayo  at  Nuklukyet. 

"We  prospected  on  the  Stewart,  Pelly,  Salmon 
and  White  Rivers  and  found  gold  on  all  those 
streams.    I  don't  know  whether  we  were  on  the 


m^ 


*% 


OLD  TIMES  ON  THE  YUKON 


193 


Klondyke  River,  or  Bonanza  or  Eldorado  Creeks, 
for  we  did  not  know  the  names  of  many  streams 
we  prospected.  We  made  caches  on  the  creek  op- 
posite Fort  ReHance  and  in  other  places  where  we 
found  gold  in  paying  quantities,  intending  to  re- 
turn and  work  those  streams. 

"The  largest  nuggets  were  about  the  size  of  a 
grain  of  wheat.  Over  the  mountain,  east  of  Fort 
Reliance,  we  cached  on  ground  that  has  since  paid 
seventy-five  dollars  a  day  per  man.  We  brought 
out  fourteen  dollars  from  one  pan  of  dirt  for  Ed 
Sheflfelin,  who  went  up  the  river  with  four  or  five 
men  in  a  small  boat  called  the  'New  Racket'  as  far 
as  Nuklukyet,  one  thousand  miles  below  Fort  Re- 
liance. I  think  there  will  be  no  lack  of  new  pay 
ground  for  the  people  who  are  going  in.  If  the 
climate  were  as  warm  as  that  of  California,  the 
Yukon  would  equal  that  state  in  the  output  of  gold. 

"The  thermometer  was  eighty-two  degrees  below 
zero  twice  during  the  winter  of  1883-3  and  the  cold 
was  intense.  We  went  in  ill-prepared  for  the  cli- 
mate, but  the  Indians  provided  us  with  furs,  moc- 
casins, caps,  etc.  Furs  were  cheap  then,  for  I  was 
offered  a  silver  fox  for  a  fancy  blanket.  We  found 
lots  of  game  and  plenty  of  berries  in  the  summer. 

"In  consequence  of  eating  salt  meat  and  having 
no  fresh  vegetables  or  fruit,  three  of  us  were  at- 
tacked with  scurvy  in  April,  1883,  so  we  had  to  float 
down  the  river  in  our  boats  after  the  ice  broke  up  on 
May  16.  I  had  it  worst  of  all,  for  I  was  blue  frdm 
the  waist  down  and  was  getting  weaker  and  weaker, 


W^^^:^'7WT''^-iW^^^'^!ff^'T&M 


194 


FIGHTING  DREADED  SCORBUT 


so  that  the  other  men  were  alarmed  about  me. 
When  we  reached  Tanana  River,  an  Indian  made 
me  some  tea  out  of  herbs,  which  broke  up  the 
scurvy,  and  when  we  reached  St.  Michael's  I  had  so 
nearly  recovered  that  I  thought  of  turning  back. 
I  have  never  been  back,  however,  but  now  think 
seriously  of  going.  I  settled  in  Okanogan  County 
in  1883-4,  and  have  been  there  ever  since  until  I 
recently  moved  to  Spokane  . 

"I  would  not  advise  anybody  to  leave  h  jre  after 
August  15,  with  the  intention  of  going  over  the 
pass.  This  is  the  very  latest  date  at  which  the  pros- 
pector would  escape  the  early  storms  on  the  sum- 
mit and  get  down  the  river  before  it  begins  freez- 
mg.'* 

One  of  the  strangest  experiences  of  Klondyke 
life  was  undergone  by  a  young  French  Canadian, 
Henry  Dore,  of  Seattle,  and  was  related  to  me  by  a 
friend  of  his. 

Dore  resided  in  Seattle  several  years  prior  to  the 
early  spring  of  1896.  Tall,  well  proportioned  and, 
by  habit  and  occupation,  a  woodsman,  Dore  saw 
but  little  of  city  life,  although  this  was  his  home; 
his  avocation  of  logging  taking  him  into  the  re- 
cesses of  the  primeval  forests.  He  made  a  number 
of  close  friends  in  Seattle,  however. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1896,  Dore  became  dissat- 
isfied with  his  life  in  the  forests,  and  longed  for  a 
chance  to  win  a  fortune  in  the  frozen  north.  He 
was  poor  and  unable  to  raise  enough  money  to  se- 
cure the  necessary  outfit,  but  a  friend  helped  him 


'  FROM  POVERTY  TO  AFFLUENCE 


195 


enough  so  that,  on  a  bright  day,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  beautiful  month  of  April,  he  sailed  with  the  re- 
quired amount  of  supplies,  and  in  the  company  of 
many  other  earnest,  ambitious  and  hard-working 
men. 

When  he  returned  on  the  steamer  "Portland," 
July  16,  1897,  he  was  a  rich  man,  with  $5^,000  in 
his  pocket  and  millions  more  in  the  Eldorado  Creek. 

Leaving  Seattle  early  in  April,  1896,  Dore  had 
reached  Dyea  without  incident.  He  was  supplied 
with  barely  enough  provisions  to  last  him  a  year; 
but  he  set  out  boldly  for  the  gold  diggings  at  Forty 
Mile  Creek,  crossing  the  Chilkoot  pass  with  his 
pack  on  a  Yukon  sled.  His  experience,  rafting 
down  the  Yukon  was  similar  to  mine.  He  made  the 
trip  without  unusual  incidents,  although  exposed  at 
times  to  rough  weather  and  the  dangers  of  the 
rapids  of  the  upper  headquarters  of  the  Yukon. 
His  greatest  care  was  to  make  his  supply  of  food 
last  him  as  long  as  possible. 

When  Dore  reached  Forty  Mile,  he  sought  for 
work  in  the  mines,  after  fruitless  attempts  to  locate 
a  claim  for  himself.  His  stores  were  steadily  dimin- 
ishing in  quantity,  and  he  had  no  money  to  replace 
them;  thus  he  soon  found  himself  eleven  hundred 
dollars  in  debt  after  about  a  three  months  stay  in 
Forty  Mile. 

Later  in  August,  came  the  news  of  the  rich  finds 
of  placer  gold  in  the  streams  entering  the  Klondyke 
River  above  what  has  since  been  platted  as  Daw- 
son City.    Dore  did  not  lose  any  time  getting  there. 


WBIW 


l^l!IB|f!i|f5BI»ii«i  11111.11,^1.  .11  Ji « '-."i' 


196 


A  BRAVE  FELLOW 


He  borrowed  a  sum  of  money,  barely  enough  to 
purchase  provisions  enough  to  last  him  during  the 
trip  up  the  Yukon.  With  a  brave  heart,  and  deter- 
mined this  time  to  win,  he  set  out  for  the  new  dig- 
gings. He  was  among  the  first  to  locate  a  claim 
on  Eldorado  Creek,  after  all  the  promising  locations 
on  Bonanza  Creek  had  been  taktn  up.  He  nearly 
starved  to  death  while  prospecting  the  Eldorado,  as 
his  food  had  completely  given  out,  save  a  small 
quantity  of  tea  and  some  beans.  It  was  utterly  im- 
possible for  him  to  get  food  from  the  other  pros- 
pectors in  the  vicinity,  as  none  of  the  men  who 
were  in  the  first  rush  in  the  new  camp  brought  an 
ooince  of  food  more  than  was  required  for  their 
own  maintenance. 

Dore  thus  experienced  all  the  pangs  of  hunger 
while  preserving  his  last  little  remaining  prrcel  of 
food.  But  through  all  these  extreme  hardships  he 
did  not  lose  heart,  and  went  on,  steadily  working  up 
the  stream  and  looking  anxiously,  almost  with  des- 
peration, for  a  claim  that  would  keep  him  from 
starvation.  Finally  he  struck  it.  Half  way  up  the 
Eldorado  Creek,  from  its  confluence  with  the 
Bonanza  Creek,  he  washed  out  a  pan  of  glittering 
colors — enough  to  tell  that  there  was  gold  beneath 
the  gravel  bed  of  the  stream.  He  located  No.  19 
above  Discovery,  and  immediately  set  to  work.  In 
a  week,  he  had  taken  out  one  thousand  dollars  in 
nuggets — enough  to  relieve  his  pressing  wants,  for 
flour  was  sixty  dollars  a  sack.  After  purchasing 
provisions  from  his  neighbors  to  tide  him  over  till 


WITH  A  GRATEFUL  HEART 


197 


the  arrival  of  supplies  from  Circle  City,  Dore 
worked  day  and  night  on  his  claim.  With  the  dust 
that  he  took  out  of  his  single  prospect  hole,  he  pur- 
chased three  other  claims  on  the  creek  and  a  half 
interest  in  a  fourth.  When  he  cleaned  up  his  last 
pile  of  pay-dirt,  this  spring,  he  still  had  fifty-two 
thousand  dollars  left  above  all  his  purchases,  and 
with  that,  he  determined  to  return  to  his  home  in 
Seattle. 

Arriving  in  Seattle  on  the  same  boat  on  which  I 
made  my  return  trip,  Dore's  first  mission  was  to 
himt  up  his  friend  who  had  so  kindly  befriended 
him  in  his  need.  After  days  of  searching  he  located 
him  and,  I  tell  you,  there  was  a  happy  reunion. 


w^mmm 


mm 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Outfit  and  Supplies  Needed  for  One  Man,  One  Year — 
Outfit  for  Two  Men — Table  of  Canadian  Customs 
Duties  on  Goods  Needed  by  the  Miners. 

SUPPLIES  REQUIRED  FOR  ONE  MAN  FOR  ONE  YEAR. 

500  pounds  flour $13.60. 

100  pounds  oat  meal 6.00. 

100  pounds  beans 3.35. 

24  pounds  coffee  at  30c 7.20. 

24  pounds  tea,  at  50c 12.00. 

100  pounds  bacon,  at  14c 14.00. 

100  pounds  dried  potatoes,  at  5c 5.00. 

50  pounds  dried  vegetables,  at  5c....  2.50. 

100  pounds  dried  fruits,  at  6c 6.00. 

25  pounds  (2  cases)  condensed  milk..  2.50. 

5  pounds  baking  pov/der 2.50. 

5  pounds  salt  and  pepper 1.50. 

50  pounds  canned  butter,  at  25c 12.50. 

30  pounds  lard,  at  10c 3.00. 

25  pounds  rice,  at  5c 1.25. 

20  pounds  tools 15.00. 

50  pounds  stove  and  cooking  utensils .  10.00. 

2  pounds  matches  and  miscellany. . .  1.50. 

1,310  pounds.         Total  supplies $116.80. 

OUTFIT. 

Three  suits  woolen  underclothes. $12.00. 

Three  woolen  overshirts 6.00. 

(188) 


MINER'S  OUTFITS  AND   SUPPLIES        199 

Two  pairs  overalls $3.00. 

Six  pairs  woolen  socks 6.00. 

Two  pairs  blankets 16.00. 

One  fox-skin  robe 50.00. 

One  reindeer  "parkee"  covering  head 

and  reaching  to  the  knees 12.00. 

Three  pairs  caribou  mittens 6.00. 

Two  fur  caps 8.00.  * 

Two  pairs  rubber  boots 7.00. 

Three  pairs  moccasins 9.00. 

One  pair  "mucklucks,"  a  sort  of  woolen 

sweater 10.00. 

Two  sweaters  (extra  thick) 8.00. 

Weight,  120  pounds.       Total  outfit. .  .$157^. 

1,310  pounds  of  supplies -jyi-??: 

Grand  total,  1,430  pounds $273.80. 

OUTFIT  REQUIRED  FOR  TWO  MEN. 

Flour 800  pounds. 

Bacon  .' 400  pounds. 

Beans   300  pounds. 

Dried  fruit  (assorted) 50  pounds. 

Sugar  (loaf) 50  pounds. 

Condensed  milk  50  pounds. 

Coffee 40  pounds. 

Tea  10  pounds. 

Corn  meal 25  pounds. 

Rice  20  pounds. 

Baking  powder 20  pounds. 

Salt , 25  pounds. 

Oatmeal  25  pounds. 

Evaporated  potatoes  20  pounds. 


wm 


IP 


Pippw 


WPP 


^^^^^w^w^ 


200       MINER'S  OUTFITS  AND   SUPPLIES 

Evaporated  onions 10  pounds. 

Pepper  5  pounds. 

Evaported  vinegar  (4  pts.).    , 
Matches  (1  doz.  bunches). 

Total 1,836  pounds. 

Tent,  blankets  and  clothing. 
1  wall  tent,  8x10  feet. 
4  pair  heavy  woolen  blankets. 
1  pair  rubber  blankets. 

1  dozen  heavy  woolen  socks. 

4  suits  heavy  woolen  underwear. 
4  heavy  overshirts. 
4  pair  heavy  overalls. 
4  pair  hip  boots,  rubber. 
4  pair  shoes. 

2  heavy  woolen  suits. 
2  Mackinaw  suits. 

6  pair  heavy  woolen  gloves. 
4  pair  heavy  woolen  mittens. 
2  pair  snow  shoes. 
2  pair  snow  glasses. 
2  caps. 

2  broad  brimmed  hats. 

Total  weight  about  200  pounds. 
1  Yukon  stove. 

3  lengths  stovepipe. 
1  large  frying-pan. 
1  baking  pan. 

1  bread  pan,  10  quarts. 

3  granite  kettles,  10,  8  and  6  quarts. 

1  coffee  pot. 


MINER'S   OUTFITS  AND   SUPPLIES 


201 


3  granite  plates. 

2  knives,  forks  and  spoons. 

2  granite  cups. 

1  large  spoon. 

1  3^  pound  ax. 

1  small  hand  ax. 

1  hand  saw. 

100  feet  half-inch  rope. 

Nails. 

Pitch. 

Oakum,  for  boat. 

2  picks. 

2  shovels.  # 

Estimated  weight  of  hardware. .    100  pounds. 

Estimated  weight  of  clothing,  etc.   200  pounds. 

Estimated  weight  of  provisions.  .1,836  pounds. 

Grand  total  weight 2,136  pounds. 

This  will  not  cost  to  exceed  $300. 

Every  pound  of  goods  going  into  the  Klondyke 
gold  fields  is  subject  to  a  duty  by  the  Canadian 
Government,  except  a  reasonable  outfit  consisting 
of  clothing,  provisions,  etc.,  which  is  free  by  order 
of  the  Collector  of  Customs.  An  attempt  was  made 
by  the  Canadian  authority  to  collect  a  duty  on 
everything  without  exception.  The  authorities  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  however,  objected  to  this  and 
threatened  to  withdraw  the  order  whereby  Dyea 
was  made  a  sub-port  of  entrance.  Had  the  United 
States  done  this  it  would  have  closed  this  harbor 
to  the  vessels  of  all  other  nations  and  would  have 
left  the  business  of  transportation  between  the  upper 


HP«^|' imp 


■HBP 


^1^^ 


liAif    III  up  I  ^n 


ao2 


CANADIAN   CUSTOMS    DUTIES 


Yukon  and  the  outside  world  entirely  under  the 
control  of  the  transportation  companies  of  the 
United  States.  The  Canadian  ofovernment  immedi- 
.tely  saw  the  difficulty  that  would  surround  its 
.:raders  if  this  threat  were  carried  out  and  compro- 
mised the  matter  by  exempting  a  reasonable  outfit 
from  import  duties.  What  is  meant  by  a  reasonable 
outfit  was  left  entirely  to  the  Collector  of  Customs 
to  judge,  and,  up  to  the  present  time,  he  has  proved 
most  reasonable  and  liberal  in  his  constructions. 

Goods  imported  for  sale  must,  however,  pay  to 
the  Canadian  Government,  duties  in  the  following 
amoun^: 

Shovels,  spades,  picks,  etc.,  25  per  cent. 

Horses,  20  per  cent. 

Axes,  hatchets  and  adzes,  25  per  cent. 

Baking  powder,  6  cents  per  pound. 

Bed  comforters,  32|  per  cent. 

Blankets,  5  cents  per  pounc'  pnd  25  per  cent. 

Boat's  and  ship's  sails,  25  per  cent. 

Rubber  boots,  25  per  cent. 

Boots  and  shoes,  25  per  cent. 

BreadstufTs,  viz.:  grain,  flour  and  meal  of  all 
kinds,  20  per  cent. 

Bullion,  gold  or  silver,  free. 

Butter,  4  cents  per  pound. 

Candles,  28  per  cent. 

Cartridges  and  ammunition,  30  per  cent. 

Cheese,  3  cents  per  pound. 

Cigars  and  cigarettes,  $2  per  pound,  and  25  per 
cent. 


CANADIAN   CUSTOMS   DCJTIES 


203 


Clothing: — 

Socks,  10  cents  per  dozen  pairs  and  35  per  cent. 

Knitted  goods  of  every  description,  35  per  cent. 

Ready-made,  partially  of  wool,  30  per  cent. 

Waterproof  clothing,  35  per  cent. 

Cofifee,  condensed,  30  per  cent;  roasted,  2  cents 
per  pound  and  10  per  cent;  substitutes,  2  cents  per 
pound;  extracts,  3  cents  per  pound. 

Condensed  milk,  3  cents  per  pound. 

Cotton  knitted  goods,  35  per  cent. 

Crowbars,  35  per  cent. 

Cutlery,  35  per  cent. 

Dogs,  20  per  cent. 

Drugs,  20  per  cent. 

Duck,  from  20  to  30  per  cent. 

Earthenware,  30  per  cent. 

Edge  tools,  35  per  cent. 

Firearms,  20  per  cent. 

Fish  hooks  and  lines,  25  per  cent. 

Flour,  wheat,  75  cents  per  barrel;  rye,  50  cents 
per  barrel. 

Fruits,  dried,  25  per  cent. 

Fruits,  prunes,  raisins,  currants,  1  cent  per  pound. 

Fruits,  jellies,  jams  and  preserves,  3  cents  per 
pound. 

Fur  caps,  mufifs,  capes,  coats,  25  per  cent. 

Furniture.  30  per  cent- 
Galvanized  iron  or  tinware,  30  per  cent. 

Guns,  20  per  cent.  . 

Hardware,  N.  E.  S.,  32|  per  cent. 

Harness  and  saddlery,  30  per  cent. 


204 


CANADIAN   CUSTOMS   DUTIES 


i 


Ice,  free. 

Jerseys,  knitted,  35  per  cent. 
Lard,  2  cents  per  pound. 
Linen  clothing,  32^  per  cent. 
Maps  and  charts,  20  per  cent. 
Meats,  canned,  25  per  cent;  in  barrel,  2  cents  per 
pound. 

Oatmeal,  20  per  cent. 

Oiled  cloth,  30  per  cent. 

Pipes,  tobacco,  35  per  cent. 

Pork,  in  barrel,  2  cents  per  pound. 

Potatoes,  15  cents  per  bushel. 

Potted  Meats,  25  per  cent. 

Powder,  mining  and  blasting,  2  cents  per  pound. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


Canadian    Mining    Laws    and    Begulations — ^Becent 
Ainendments. 

"Privy  Council,  Canada,  at  the  Government 
House  at  Ottawa,  Friday,  the  2l3t  day  of  May,  1897. 

"His  Excellency  The  Governor  General,  in  Coun- 
cil. 

"Whereas  it  is  found  necessary  and  expedient 
that  certain  amendments  and  additions  should  be 
made  to  the  regulations  governing  'placer  mining' 
established  by  order  of  council  of  the  9th  of  Nov- 
ember, 1889. 

"Therefore  his  excellency,  in  virtue  of  the  previ- 
sions of  'the  Dominion  lands  act,'  chapter  54,  of  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  Canada,  and  by  and  with  the 
advice  of  the  queen's  privy  council  for  Canada,  is 
pleased  to  order  ihat  the  following  regulations  shall 
be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  substituted  for  the 
governance  of  placer  mining  along  the  Yukon  river 
and  its  tributaries  in  the  Northwest  Territories  in 
the  room,  place  and  stead  of  theie  regulations  es- 
tablished by  order  in  council  of  the  9th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1889. 

"(Signed)  John  J.  McGee. 

Clerk  of  the  Privy  Council. 

"To  the  Honorable  The  Minister  of  the  Interior." 
"Regulations  governing  placer  mining  along  the 

(2Q6) 


206 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


Yukon  river  and  its  tributaries  in  the  Northwest 
Territories: 

Interpretation. 


(t  n 


'Bar  diggings'  shall  mean  any  part  of  a  river 
over  which  the  water  extends  when  the  water  is  in 
its  flooded  state,  and  which  is  not  covered  at  low 
water. 

"Mines  on  benches  shall  be  known  as  bench  dig- 
gings, and  shall  for  the  purpose  of  defining  the  size 
of  such  claims  be  excepted  from  dry  diggings. 

"  'Dry  diggings'  shall  mean  any  mine  over  which 
a  river  never  extends. 

"  'Miner'  shall  mean  a  male  or  female  over  the 
age  of  18,  but  not  under  that  age. 

"  'Claims'  shall  mein  the  personal  right  of  prop- 
erty in  a  placer  mine  or  diggings  during  the  time 
for  which  the  grant  of  such  mine  or  diggings  is 
made, 

"  'Legal  post'  shall  mean  a  stake  standing  not  less 
than  four  feet  above  the  ground  and  squared  on  four 
sides  for  at  least  one  foot  from  the  top.  Both  sides 
so  squared  shall  measure  at  least  four  '.nches  across 
the  face.  It  shall  also  mean  any  stun.'p  or  tree  cut 
off  and  squared  or  faced  to  the  above  height  and 
size. 

"  'Close  season'  shall  mean  the  period  of  the  year 
during  which  placer  mining  is  generally  si^;  peucivd. 
The  period  to  be  fixed  by  the  gold  com  mission*',  r 
in  whose  district  the  claim  is  situated. 

"  'Locality'  shall  mean  the  territory  along  a  river 
(tributary  of  the  Yukon),  and  its  affluents. 


SF^^l 


CANADIAN  MINTNG  LAWS 


207 


"  'Mineral'  shall  include  all  minerals  whatsoever 
other  than  coal. 

Nature  and  Size  of  Claims. 

"First — Bar  diggbgs:  A  strip  of  land  100  feet 
wide  at  high  watermark  and  thence  extending  along 
into  the  river  to  its  lowest  water  level. 

"Second — The  sides  of  a  claim  for  bar  diggings 
shall  be  two  parallel  lines  run  as  nearly  as  possible 
at  right  angles  to  the  stream  and  shall  be  marked 
by  four  legal  posts,  one  at  each  end  of  the  claim 
at  or  about  high  watermark,  also  one  at  each  end 
of  the  claim  at  or  about  the  edge  of  the  water.  One 
of  the  posts  at  high  watermark  shall  be  legibly 
marked  with  the  name  of  the  miner  and  the  date 
upon  which  the  claim  is  staked. 

"Third — Dry  diggings  shall  be  100  feet  square 
and  shall  have  placed  at  each  of  its  four  corners  a 
legal  post,  upon  one  of  which  shall  be  legibly 
marked  the  name  of  the  miner  and  the  date  upon 
which  the  claim  was  stal'edc 

"Fourth — Creek  and  liver  ciaims  shall  be  500 
feet  long,  measured  in  direction  of  the  general 
course  of  the  stream,  and  shall  extend  in  width  from 
base  to  base  of  the  hill  or  bench  on  each  side,  but 
when  the  hill  or  benches  are  less  than  100  feet  apart, 
the  claim  may  be  100  feet  in  depth.  The  sides  of  a 
claim  shall  be  two  parallel  lines  run  as  nearly  as 
possible  at  right  angles  to  the  stream.  The  sides 
shall  be  marked  with  legal  posts  at  or  about  the 
edge  of  the  water,  p.nd  at  ^he  rear  boundaries  of  the 
claim.    One  of  the  legal  posts  at  the  stream  shall  be 


208 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


legibly  marked  with  the  name  of  the  miner  and  the 
date  upon  which  the  claim  was  staked. 

"Fifth — liei    '.  claims  shall  be  100  feet  square. 

"Sixth — In  Qt  ^  the  size  of  claims,  they  shall 
be  measured  horii-^ntally,  irrespective  of  inequal- 
ities on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

"Seventh — If  any  person  or  persons  shall  discover 
a  new  mine,  and  such  discovery  shall  be  established 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  gold  commissioner^  a  claim 
for  the  bar  diggings  750  feet  in  length  may  be 
granted. 

"A  new  stratum  of  auriferous  earth  or  gravel 
situated  in  a  locality  where  the  claims  are  aban- 
doned shall,  for  this  purpose,  be  deemed  a  new 
mine,  although  the  same  locality  shall  have  previ- 
ously been  worked  at  a  different  level. 

"Eighth — The  forms  of  application  for  a  grant  for 
placer  mining  and  the  grant  of  the  same  shall  be 
those  contained  in  forms  'H'  and  'V  in  the  schedule 
hereto. 

"Ninth — A  claim  shall  be  recorded  with  the  gold 
commissioner  in  whose  district  it  ii  situated  within 
three  days  after  the  location  thereof,  if  it  is  located 
within  ten  miles  of  the  commissioner's  office.  One 
extra  day  shall  be  allowed  for  making  such  record 
for  every  additional  ten  miles  and  fraction  thereof. 

"Tenth — In  the  event  of  the  absence  of  the  gold 
commissioner  from  his  office,  entry  for  a  claim  may 
be  granted  by  any  person  whom  he  may  appoint  to 
perform  his  duties  in  his  absence. 

"Eleventh — Entry    shall   not  be   granted   for  a 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


claim  which  has  not  been  staked  by  the  applicant  in 
person,  in  the  manner  specified  in  these  regulations. 
An  affidavit  that  the  claim  was  staked  out  by  the 
applicant  shall  be  embodied  in  form  *H'  of  the 
schedule  hereto. 

"Twelfth — An  entry  fee  of  $15  shall  be  charged 
the  first  year  and  an  annual  fee  of  $100  for  each  of 
the  following  years.  This  provision  shall  apply  to 
the  locations  for  which  entries  have  already  been 
granted. 

"Thirteenth — ^After  the  recording  of  a  claim,  the 
removal  of  any  post  by  the  holder  thereof,  or  any 
person  acting  in  his  behalf,  for  the  purpose  of 
changing  the  boundaries  of  his  claim,  shall  act  as  a 
forfeiture  of  the  claim. 

"Fourteenth — The  entry  of  every  holder  for  a 
grant  for  placer  minine  must  be  renewed,  and  his 
receipt  relinquished  and  replaced  every  year,  the 
entry  fee  being  paid  each  year. 

"Fifteenth — No  miner  shall  receive  a  grant  for 
more  than  one  mining  claim  in  the  same  locality; 
but  the  same  miner  may  hold  any  number  of  claims 
by  purchase,  and  any  number  of  miners  may  unite 
to  work  their  claims  in  common  upon  such  terms 
as  they  may  arrange,  provided  such  agreement  be 
registered  with  the  gold  commissioner  and  a  fee  of 
$5  paid  for  each  registration. 

"Sixteenth — Any  miner  or  miners  may  sell,  mort- 
gage, or  dispose  of  his  or  their  claims,  provided 
such  disposal  be  registered  with,  and  a  fee  of  $3 
paid  to  the  gold  commissioner,  who  shall  thereupon 


210 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


give  the  assignee  a  certificate  in  form  *J'  ^^  the 
schedule  hereto. 

"Seventeenth — Every  miner  shall,  during  the  con- 
tinuance of  his  grant,  have  the  exclusive  right  of 
entry  upon  his  own  claim  for  the  miner-like  work- 
ing thereof,  and  the  construction  of  a  residence 
thereon,  and  shall  be  entitled  exclusively  to  all  the 
proceeds  realized  therefrom;  but  he  shall  have  no 
surface  rights  therein,  and  the  gold  commissioner 
may  grant  to  the  holders  of  adjacent  claims  such 
rights  of  entry  thereon  as  may  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  working  of  their  claim,  upon  such  terms 
as  may  to  him  seem  reasonable.  He  may  also  grant 
permits  to  miners  to  cut  timber  thereon  for  their 
own  use,  upon  payment  of  the  dues  prescribed  by 
the  regulations  in  that  behalf. 

"Eighteenth — Every  miner  shall  be  entitled  to  the 
use  of  so  much  of  the  water  naturally  flowing 
through  or  past  his  claim,  and  not  alrea^  lawfully 
appropriated,  as  shall  in  the  opinion  of  the  gold 
commissioner,  be  necessary  for  the  due  working 
thereof,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  drain  his  own  claim 
free  of  charge. 

"Nineteenth — A  claim  shall  be  deemed  to  be 
abandoned  and  open  to  the  occupation  and  entry 
by  any  person  when  the  same  shall  have  remained 
unworked  on  working  days  by  the  grantee  thereof 
or  by  some  person  on  his  behalf  for  the  space  of 
seventy-two  hours,  unless  sickness  or  other  reason- 
able cause  may  be  shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
gold  commissioner,  or  unless  the  grantee  is  absent 


n 


?i 


JO 


W 


I 


WiiaBlttiiai 


^^^_ligiigg||g||g||g||g|gMM|MKg| 


Ill  ijl>lllllfpp 


I  .  II  ■  I  (!  1)1  ^nvfipipif^paBiiiii 


mmm 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


211 


on  leave  given  by  the  commissioner,  and  the  gold 
commissioner  upon  obtaining  evidence  satisfactory 
to  himself  that  this  provision  is  not  being  complied 
with,  may  caned  the  entry  given  for  a  claim. 

"Twentieth — If  the  land  upon  which  a  claim  has 
been  located  is  not  the  property  of  the  crown  it  will 
be  necessary  for  the  person  who  applies  for  entry 
to  furnish  proof  that  he  has  acquired  from  the  owner 
of  the  land  the  surface  right  before  entry  can  be 
granted. 

"Twenty-first — If  the  occupier  of  the  lands  has 
not  received  a  patent  therefor,  the  purchase  money 
of  the  surface  rights  must  be  paid  to  the  crown,  and 
a  patent  of  the  surface  rights  will  issue  to  the  party 
who  acquired  the  mining  rights.  The  money  so 
collected  will  either  be  refunded  to  the  occupier  of 
the  land  when  he  is  entitled  to  a  patent  therefor,  or 
will  be  ci  edited  to  him  on  account  of  payment  for 
land. 

"Twenty-second — When  the  party  obtaining  the 
mining  rights  cannot  make  an  arrangement  with  the 
owner  thereof  for  the  acquisition  of  the  surface 
rights  it  shall  be  lawful  for  him  to  give  notice  to 
the  owner  or  his  agent,  or  the  occupier  to  appoint 
an  arbitrator  to  act  with  another  arbitrator  named 
by  him  in  order  to  award  the  amount  of  compensa- 
tion to  which  the  owner  or  occupant  shall  be  en- 
titled. The  notice  mentioned  in  this  section  shall 
be  according  to  form  to  be  obtained  jpon  applica- 
tion from  the  gold  commissioner  for  the  district  in 
which  the  lands  in  question  lie,  and  shall,  when  prac- 


$• 


S12 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


I, 


ticable,  be  personally  served  on  such  owner  or  his 
agent,  if  known,  or  occupant,  and  after  reasonable 
efforts  have  been  made  to  effect  personal  service 
without  success,  then  such  notice  shall  be  served 
upon  the  owner  or  agent  within  a  period  to  be  fixed 
by  the  gold  commissioner  before  the  expiration  of 
the  time  limited  in  such  notice.  If  the  proprietor 
refuses  or  declines  to  appoint  an  arbitrator,  or  when, 
for  any  other  reason,  no  arbitrator  is  appointed  by 
the  proprietor  in  the  time  limited  therefor  in  the 
notice  provided  by  this  section,  the  gold  commis- 
sioner for  the  district  in  which  the  lands  in  question 
lie  shall,  on  being  satisfied  by  affidavit  that  such 
notice  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  such  owner, 
agent  or  occupant,  or  that  such  owner,  agent  or  oc- 
cupant, willfully  evades  the  service  of  such  notice, 
or  cannot  be  found,  and  that  reasonable  efforts  have 
been  made  to  effect  such  service,  and  that  the  notice 
was  left  at  the  last  place  of  abode  of  such  owner, 
agent  or  occupant,  appoint  an  arbitrator  on  his  be- 
half. 

"Twenty-third — (a)  All  arbitrators  appointed  un- 
der the  authority  of  these  regulations  shall  be  sworn 
before  a  justice  of  the  peace  to  the  impartial  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  assigned  to  them,  and  they 
shall  forthwith  proceed  to  estimate  the  reasonable 
damages  which  the  owner  or  occupant  of  such  lands 
according  to  their  several  interests  therein  shall  sus- 
tain by  reason  of  such  prospecting  and  mining  oper- 
ations. 

"(b)   In  estimating  such  damages  the  arbitrators 


m 


■■ii 


!■ 


•i*fW«!«f^^iJIWH«i  /iJJM" 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS  ttfl 

shall  determine  the  value  of  the  land,  irrespectively 
of  any  enhancement  thereof  from  the  existence  of 

mineral  therein. 

"(c)  In  case  such  arbitrators  cannot  agree  they 
may  select  a  third  arbitrator,  and  when  the  two  ar- 
bitrators cannot  agree  upon  a  third  arbitrator,  the 
gold  commissioner  for  the  district  in  which  the 
lands  in  question  lie  shall  select  such  third  arbi- 
trator. 

"(d)  TLe  award  of  any  two  such  arbitrators  made 
in  writing  shall  be  final,  and  shall  be  filed  with  the 
gold  commissioner  for  the  district  in  which  the 
lands  lie. 

"If  any  cases  arise  for  which  no  provision  is  made 
in  these  regulations,  the  provisions  of  the  regula- 
tions governing  the  disposal  of  mineral  lands  other 
than  coal  lands  approved  by  his  excellency  the 
governor  in  council  on  the  9th  of  November,  1889, 
shall  apply." 

Certificate  of  Assignment  of  a  Placer  Mining  Claim. 

"Form  7.' 
"No... 

"Department  of  the  Interior. 

"Agency 18... 

"This  is  to  certify  that  (B.  C.)  has  (or  have)  filed 

an  assignment  in  due  form  dated 

18 ... ,  and  accompanied  by  a  registration  fee  of  two. 

dollars,  of  the  grant  to (A.  B.)  of^ 

of  the  right  to  mine 

in. . , (insert  description  of 

claim  for  one  year  from 18. . . 


r 


imm 


mmmmm 


■Pi 


«ii 


tl4  CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 

"This  certificate  entitles  the  said 

(B.  C.)  to  all  rights  and  privileges  of 

the  said (A.  B.)  in  respect  of 

the  claim  assigned,  that  is  to  say,  the  exclusive 
right  of  entry  upon  the  said  claim  for  the  miner- 
like working  thereof  and  the  construction  of  a  resi- 
dence thereon,  and  the  exclusive  right  to  all  pro- 
ceeds therefrom  for  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
year  for  which  said  claim  was  granted  to  the  said 

(A.  B.),  that  is  to  say,  until 

the 18. 

"The  said (B.C.)  shall  be 

entitled  to  the  use  of  so  much  of  the  water  naturally 
flowing  through  or  past  his  (or  their)  claim,  and 
not  already  lawfully  appropriated,  as  shall  be  neces- 
sary for  the  due  working  thereof,  and  to  drain  the 
claim  free  of  charge. 

"This  grant  does  not  convey  to  the  said 

(B.  C.)  any  surface  rights  in  said 

claim  or  any  rights  of  ownership  in  the  soil  covered 
by  the  said  claim,  and  the  said  grant  shall  lapse  and 
be  forfeited  unless  the  claim  is  continually  and  in 
good  faith  worked  by  the  said  (B.  C.)  or  his  (or 
their)  associates. 

"The  rights  hereby  granted  are  those  laid  down 
in  the  Dominion  Mining  Regulations,  and  are  sub- 
ject to  all  provisions  of  the  said  regulations,  whether 

the  same  are  expressed  herein  or  not. 

it 

Gold  Commissioner." 


■''I  :JLWipH^!Wi'JPIipj 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


SIS 


Application  for  Grant  for  Placer  Mining  Claim  and 
I    Affidavit  of  Applicant. 

"Form  'H.' 

"I,  (or  we)  of hereby  apply 

under  the  Dominion  Mining  Regulations  for  grant 
of  a  claim  for  placer  mining  as  defined  in  the  said 

regulations  in (here 

describe  locality)  and  I  (or  we)  solemnly  swear: 

"First — That  I  (or  we)  am  (or  arc  to  the  best  of 
my  (or  our)  knowledge  and  belief,  the  first  discov- 
erer (or  discoverers)  of  the  said  deposit,  or 

"Second — That  the  said  claim  was  previously 

granted  to (here  name  the  last  grantee), 

but  has  remained  unworked  by  the  said  grantee  for 
not  less  than 

"Third — ^That  I  (or  we)  am  (or  are)  unaware  that 
the  land  is  other  than  vacant  Dominion  lands. 

"Fourth — That  I  (or  we)  did  on  the 

day  of mark  out  on  the 

ground  in  accordance  in  every  particular  with  the 
provisions  of  the  mining  regulations  for  the  Yukon 
river  and  its  tributaries,  the  claim  for  which  I  (or 
we)  make  this  application,  and  that  in  so  doing  I 
(or  we)  did  not  encroach  on  any  other  claim  or 
mining  location  previously  laid  out  by  any  other 
person. 

"Fifth — That  the  said  claim  contains  as  nearly  as 
I  (or  we)  could  measure  or  estimate  an  area  of 

square  feet,  and  that  the  descHp- 

tion  (and  sketch,  if  any)  of  this  date  hereto  at- 
tached signed  by  me  (or  us)  sets  (or  set)  forth  in 


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ANADIAN  TilNING  LAWS 

detail  to  the  best  of  my  (or  our)  knowledge  and 
ability  its  position,  form  and  dimensions, 

"SixtlA — That  I  (or  we)  make  this  application  in 
good  faith  to  acquire  the  claim  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  mining,  prosecuted  by  myself  (or  us),  or  by  my- 
self and  associates,  or  by  my  (or  our)  assigns. 

"Sworn  before  me. 

At this day  ol 

18... 

"(Signature) 


;» 


Grant  for  Placer  Claim. 

"Form'U 

"Department  of  the  Interior. 

A.gency •,  18  •  • « 

"In  consideration  of  the  payuient  of  the  fee  pre- 
scribed by  clause  12  of  the  mining  regulations  of 

the  Yukon  river  and  its  tributaries  by 

(A.  B.)  accompanying  his  (or  their) 

application  No dated 

18. . .  for  a  mining  claim  in ' (here 

insert  description  of  locality),  the  minister  of  the 

interior  hereby  grants  to  the  said 

(A.  B.)  for  the  term  of  one  year  from  the  date  hereof 
the  exclusive  right  of  entry  upon  the  claim  (here 
describe  in  detail  the  claim). 

"Granted — For  the  miner-like  working  thereof 
and  the  construct'on  of  a  residence  thereon,  and  the 
exclusive  right  to  all  the  proceeds  derived  there- 
from.   That  the  said (A.  B )  shall 

be  entitled  to  the  use  of  so  much  water  naturally 


§ia','ji^i^rt& 


4<||(gig|ii|yj^^^ 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


217 


flowing  through  or  past  his  (or  their)  claim  and  not 
already  lawfully  appropriated  as  shall  be  necessary 
for  the  due  working  thereof,  and  to  drain  his  (or 
their)  claim  free  of  charge. 

"This  grant  does  not  convey  to  the  said 

.  (A.  B.)  any  surface  right  in  the  said 

claim  or  any  right  of  ownership  in  the  soil  covered 
by  the  said  claim,  and  the  said  grant  shall  lapse  and 
be  ferfeited^unless  the  claim  is  continuously  and  in 

good  faith  worked  by  the  said 

(A.  B.)  or  his  (or  their)  associates. 

"The  rights  hereby  granted  are  those  laid  down  in 
the  aforesaid  mining  regulations  and  no  more,  and 
are  subject  to  all  the  provisions  of  the  said  regula- 
tions, whether  the  same  are  expressed  herein  or  not. 


(( 


•  •...(«••*•••••••• 


"Gold  Commissioner." 
These  laws  have  been  amended  and  a  royalty  of 
horn  ten  to  tw  enty  per  cent,  is  charged  on  all  gold 
mined  and  reserving  every  other  claim  to  the  crown. 

Amondments. 

"That  upon  all  gold  mined  on  Lie  claims  referred 
to  in  the  regulations  for  the  government  of  placer 
mining  along  the  Yukon  river  and  its  tributaries,  a 
royalty  of  10  per  cent,  shall  e  levied  and  collected 
by  officers  to  be  appointed  for  the  purpose,  pro- 
vided that  the  amount  mined  and  taken  out  from  a 
single  claim  does  not  exceed  $500  per  week,  there 
liiall  be  levied  and  collected  a  royalty  of  10  pef 
c^xif.  upon  the  amount  so  taken  out  up  to  $500  and 
upon  the  excess  or  amount  taken  from  any  single 


mppiiipp 


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S18 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


claim  over  $500  per  week  there  shall  be  levied  and 
collected  a 'royalty  of  30  per  cent.,  such  royalty  to 
form  part  of  the  consolidated  revenue,  and  to  be 
accounted  for  by  the  officers  who  collected  the 
same  in  due  course. 

"The  time  and  manner  in  which  royalty  shall  be 
collected  and  the  persons  who  shall  collect  the  same 
shall  be  provided  for  by  the  regulations  to  be  made 
by  the  gold  commissioner,  and  that  the  gold  com- 
missioner be  and  is  hereby  given  authority  to  make 
such  regulations  and  rules  accordingly. 

"That  default  in  payment  of  such  royalty,  if  con- 
tinued for  ten  days  after  notice  has  been  posted 
upon  the  claim  in  respect  of  which  it  is  demanded, 
or  in  t!ie  vicinity  of  such  claim,  by  the  gold  com- 
missioner or  his  agent,  shall  he  fc»ilowed  by  the 
cancellation  of  the  claim. 

"That  any  attempt  to  defraud  the  crown  by  with- 
holding any  revenue  thus  provided  for,  by  making 
false  statements  of  the  amount  taken  out,  may  be 
punishable  by  cancellation  of  the  claim  in  respect 
of  which  such  fraud  or  false  statements  have  been 
committed  or  made,  and  that  in  respect  of  facts  as 
to  such  a  fraud  or  false  statement  or  non-payment 
of  royalty,  the  decision  of  the  gold  commissioner 
shall  be  final." 

The  regulations  governing  the  disposal  of  placer 

,  mining  claims  along  the  Yukon  river  and  its  trib- 

'^utaries  are  amended  so  that  entry  can  only  be 

granted  for  alternate,  claims  known  as  creek  claims, 

bunch  claims,  bar  diggings  and  dry  diggings  aijd 


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CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS 


thj.t  the  other  alternate  claims  be  reserved  for  the 
crown,  to  be  disposed  of  by  public  auction,  or  in 
such  manner  as  may  be  decided  by  the  minister  of 
the  interior. 

The  penalty  of  trespassing  on  a  claim  reserved 
for  the  crown  is  immediate  cancellation  by  the  gold 
commissioner  cf  any  entry  and  entries  which  the 
person  trespassing  may  have  obtained  whether 
by  original  entry  or  by  purchase  for  a  min- 
ing claim,  and  the  refusal  by  the  gold  commis- 
sioner of  the  acceptance  of  any  application  which 
the  person  trespassing  may  at  any  time  make  for 
claims,  and  that  in  addition  to  such  penalty  the 
"mounted  police  upon  requisition  fr'  'u  afold  com- 
missioner to  that  effect,  may  take  ^d  lere.ssary 
steps  to  eject  the  trespasser. 

The  clause  in  the  former  regulations  proviuing 
that  the  discoverer  of  a  new  mine  is  entitled  to 
claim  and  shall  be  granted  a  claim  for  "bar  dig- 
gings" 750  feet  in  length  has  been  amended  so  that 
the  grant  may  apply  to  the  creek  and  river  claims 
instead  of  to  bar  diggings. 


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Lee'5  Home  and  Business 
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Letter  W^ing       Bookkeepingy^. 
PeniVii:nshjp  Banking 

Pubii><;peaking    Gens  of  ■^-^^i^*^'^^ 
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Success  iln  Bua'inett,  aP'IMovrto: 
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The  illustrated  taftchingU; 
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